Basic studies of coal to enhance its development as a clean fuel

Coal is the most abundant source of energy. However, there is a need to dev elop cleaner, and more efficient, economical, and convenient coal conversio n technologies. If is important to understand the organic chemical structur e of coal for achieving real breakthroughs in the development of such coal conversion technologies. A novel computer-assisted modeling technique based on the analysis of C-13 NMR and gel permeation chromatography has been app lied to predict the average molecular structure of the acetylated product o f a depolymerized bituminous Indian coal The proposed molecular structure m ay be of practical use in understanding the mechanism of coal conversions d uring the processes of liquefaction, gasification, combustion, and carboniz ation.