Abstract
The Indiana cuticle-rich and paper coals were investigated using Curie-point pyrolysis MS in combination with multivariate data analysis, Curie-point pyrolysis GC, and Curie-point pyrolysis GC- MS. Most of the inorganic matter in these coals is in a macromolecular and insoluble state. Photomicrographs taken under fluorescent light show cutinite material, and a sporangium of the sporinite fraction; an SEM photograph illustrates plant cuticles separated from non-weathered coal. The analyses show that the major constituent of the paper coals appears to be a recently discovered non-saponifiable polymethylenic biopolymer present in recent and fossil plant cuticles, and which almost entirely forms cutinite. On severe weathering, this biopolymer becomes relatively enriched because of its resistance to organic alteration and diagenesis.