skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Microbial conversion of low-rank coal: characterization of biodegraded product

Journal Article · · Energy Fuel; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ef00001a015· OSTI ID:6572397

The authors have characterized products obtained from the action of the fungus Polyporus versicolor on oxidized North Dakota (ND) lignite. These analyses showed that, compared to feed coal, the bioconverted materials had higher hydrogen:carbon and oxygen:carbon ratios, but were proportionately lower in aliphatic hydrogen, as determined by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The acid-precipitated extract was dissolved in dilute base and analyzed by /sup 13/C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Of the 60% of the carbon accounted for, approximately 51% of the carbon atoms were aromatic, 20% were assigned to carboxylic acid groups, and the remainder were aliphatic carbon. Proton NMR spectra of the acid-precipitated material revealed approximately equal proportions of aromatic and aliphatic hydrogen. The bioconverted materials were highly polar and exhibited a wide range in apparent molecular weight; most material was over 10,000 Da at acidic pH, as determined by ultrafiltration experiments. Freeze-dried product material was soluble in water but was essentially insoluble in other organic solvents. Calorimetric measurements on samples of the freeze-dried extract showed that, on a per-weight basis, it retained 94-97% of the heating value of the feed coal. 12 references, 5 figures, 2 tables.

Research Organization:
Battelle, Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA
OSTI ID:
6572397
Journal Information:
Energy Fuel; (United States), Vol. 1:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English