FTIR Spectroscopic Analysis of Surface Oxidation Reactions During Ozonation of Fossil Resin and Coal

Abstract

Diffuse and specular reflectance FTIR analysis both fossil resin (resinite) and coal has been carried out to study surface oxidation reactions which occur during the selective flotation of fossil resin from coal by ozone conditioning. It was found from the FTIR spectra that ozonation of both fossil resin and coal causes an increase in the peak intensity associated with stretching vibrational frequencies of certain oxygen functional groups such as hydroxyls (3400 cm⁻¹’) and carbonyls (1700 cm⁻¹).

It is known that these oxidation reactions create a hydrophilic state at coal and/or resin surfaces. Such hydrophilic states created by ozone oxidation are evident from the results of water evaporation experiments using a specular reflectance FTIR technique. It was found from the spectra that the rate of water evaporation from a layer of conditioned fossil resin or coal particles, decreases significantly after 10 min ozonation treatment, indicating a stronger state of surface hydration.

Keywords:

• FTIR
• Specular reflectance
• Resinite
• Surface oxidation
• Ozonation.