| Description |
The results of exposing 10 to kO u diameter particles of a high volatile bituminous coal from Spring Canyon Mine, Utah, to a light pulse from a high energy capacitor discharge lamp are described in this work. It has been found that this energy input has in all cases caused the coal to be broken into two physically and chemically distinct substances. One is a black-colored material, termed "B", which is highly aromatic, very stable thermally, difficult to oxidize, and composed o of small colloidal-sized spheres probably polymeric and 350 A in diameter. B makes up approximately 6l$ of the weight of the coal. The other distinct material appears yellow when in dilute solution or in thin films on glass. It has been termed "Y". Y is highly saturated, unstable thermally, easily oxidized, of average molecular weight 750, of the consistency of thick tar, similar chemically in many ways to B, 85$ soluble in benzene, essentially 100$ soluble in acetone, by weight about 75$ of the ASTM volatile matter in the coal, composed of a mixture of related compounds and making up about 39$ of the weight of the coal. At higher intensity flashes (3000-volt capacitor charge) considerable amounts of Y are gasified (26$). These gases are mostly hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and acetylene. |
