Evaluation of low‐temperature coal tars by a rapid, detailed assay based on chromatography

Abstract A rapid, detailed assay, based largely on both liquid and gas chromatography, was developed for low‐temperature coal tars. With the use of this assay, the pounds per ton of coal of various compounds of commercial interest could be determined, thus supplying the information needed for an economic evaluation of the tars and the carbonisation processes. The amounts of about 100 individual compounds of several classes were involved, including light oil components, tar acids and bases, and neutral‐oil components such as naphthalenes and straight‐chain paraffins and olefins, and the total amounts of these classes in the entire tar. The results for six different tars from the same coal were chosen as examples.