Comparative Study of the Properties of the Coal Extractive and Commercial Pitches

Three extractive pitches were produced by using thermal dissolution of the medium-ranked coals at 380 degrees C in anthracene oil. The empirical properties such as the chemical composition, solubility in quinoline and toluene, softening point, and content of carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons, and also molecular and structural parameters of the extractive pitches were characterized in comparison with three commercially available pitches, including typical coal-tar pitch, petroleum-derived pitch, and blended pitch derived from the mixture of coal tar with petroleum feedstock. The molecular and structural properties of pitches were studied using FTIR, H-1 and C-13 NMR, and XRD techniques. It was shown that the average molecule of the extractive pitches was composed of predominantly aromatic rarely substituted pericondensed nuclei, such as that in coal-tar pitch. The spatial structures of both the extractive and reference pitches consisted of predominantly disordered carbon matter with a small amount of rather ordered nanosized "graphite-like" stacks. In terms of the technical specifications, the extractive pitches irrespective of the coal used met the requirements for the pitch binder and resembled commercial blended petro-coal-tar pitch. A remarkable merit of the extractive pitches compared to coal-tar pitch was low carcinogenicity (two to three times as low).