CURIE-POINT PYROLYSIS MASS-SPECTROMETRY, CURIE-POINT PYROLYSIS-GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY AND FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY AS ANALYTICAL TOOLS FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF 2 UNCOMMON LIGNITES

A case study is presented of two uncommon lignite samples, PSOC-975 and PSOC-427, which were studied by microscopic and analytical pyrolysis methods. Pyrolysis-mass spectrometric (Py-MS), pyrolysis-gas chromatographic (Py-GC) and Py-GC-MS data demonstrate that lignite PSOC-975 contains a high abundance of resinous material of some sort, whereas PSOC-427 is characterized by two major unknown pyrolysis products, prist-1-ene and alkylphenols. The chemical data contradict the microscopic observations, which point to a maceral composition of woody and cortical tissues, although a considerable part is unrecognizable. Apparent discrepancies between low-voltage Py-MS and 80-ev Py-GC-MS results were evaluated by a study of standards.