Constitution of tars from the flash pyrolysis of Australian coals: 2. Structural study of Millmerran coal-tar resins by hydrogenolysis

The structures of the acid, base, polyfunctional and neutral resin fractions of Millmerran coal tar have been studied by high-pressure catalytic hydrogenolysis followed by g.c.-m.s. analysis of the volatile products. n-Alkanes from C₉ to C₃₂ constitute 4–24% of the organic products. Each fraction shows a characteristic n-alkane distribution. The alkanes are considered to be an integral part of the coal-tar resin structure. The results show that 40–70% of the coal-tar resin fractions consist of 1- or 2-ring aromatic units substituted or linked by long methylene chains.