Coal transformation under high-temperature catagenesis

In this paper we consider products of natural pyrolysis of lignite, which resulted from the high-temperature spontaneous combustion of spoil heaps of the Chelyabinsk coal basin. These products were studied by pyrolysis, element and petrographic analyses, chromatomass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction method. We have established that under reducing conditions, the degree of pyrogenic coal transformation and the composition of pyrolysis products vary greatly, from graphite-like phases to bitumens, and depend on the temperature and degree of the system openness.