Studies related to the structure and reactivity of coals. 17. The chemical structure of asphaltenes and residues from reactions of Victorian brown coals

The chemical structures of the asphaltenes and residues from reactions of a range of brown coals with widely varying atomic H C ratios have been examined by chemical and spectroscopic methods, and have been shown to be remarkably consistent. Asphaltenes and residues from brown coals with high atomic H C ratios show a small but significant increase in incorporation of aliphatic, guest material although the main bulk of material is derived from the host component of the coal (i.e. ligno-cellulosic or tannin derived material).