Solid-State 13C NMR Analysis of Carbonaceous Materials : Coal, Oil Shales, Asphaltenes, Cokes, and Deposits
Over the past 20 years we have obtained the solid-state NMR analysis of pretty much every carbonaceous material that exists – including coal/oil shales/bitumen, polymers/catalysts/fibers, cellulose/polysaccharides/foodstuffs/gels, deposits/dried sewage/meteorites/soils/clays, etc. With the increased attention to coal liquifaction and gasification technologies we have developed an interest in creating an NMR database for coals. Coals were obtained from the Penn State Coal Sample Bank at a very reasonable cost. We have performed CP-MAS, DD-MAS, Variable Contact Time Array, and T1 Inversion-Recovery experiments on all the samples. We are currently developing regression relationships between the NMR data and the physical and chemical testing data that is provided with the samples. At some point we will write this up as a journal article. Here are some snippets of data from the coal analysis along with a few results obtained on the menagerie of samples we look at on any given day including some oil shales, engine deposits, refinery coke, asphaltenes, and pipe tobacco.
