Direct determination and quantification of sulfur forms in coals from the Argonne premium sample bank

Sulfur K Edge X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure Spectroscopy (XANES) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) have been developed for the direct determination and quantification of the forms of organically bound sulfur in nonvolatile petroleum and coal samples. XANES and XPS spectra were taken of a number of model compounds, mixtures of model compounds, heavy petroleum and coal samples. A third derivative analysis of the XANES spectra and deconvolution of the XPS spectra allowed approximate quantification of the sulfidic and thiophenic components of the model mixtures and heavy hydrocarbon resources. Recently obtained data for characterizing organically bound sulfur forms in coals from the Argonne Premium Coal Sample Bank will be discussed