CS2 extraction and FTIR & GC/MS analysis of a Chinese brown coal

The abundance of low-rank coals in China, such as bituminous and brown coals, makes studies of their composition and structure of great significance to both coal chemistry research and for efficient utilization of the coal. We describe how a Chinese brown coal was ultrasonically extracted with carbon disulfide (CS2) and the raw and extracted coals were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The corresponding extract was analyzed with a coupled gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC/MS). The FTIR analysis shows a great abundance of amidocyanogen, carbonyl, aromatic and hetero aromatic rings and single carbon-heteroatom bonds. This suggests the possible occurrence of compounds like alcohols, phenols, amines, esters, carboxylic acids, ethers, aromatics or heteroaromatics. The GC/MS analysis of the CS2 extract detected 62 compounds, among which the non-polar ones were of lower abundance while the polar ones were in higher abundance and were structurally diverse. This demonstrates the compositional and structural complexity of Shengli coal.