title: Analysis of soluble components in coals and interpretations for the complex mass spectra.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The deduction of useful information from the mass spectra of a complex mixture like coals remains difficult, which limits the clean and efficient utilization of coals. It is necessary to explore the data interpretation methods for mass spectra and visualize the analytical data of coals for industrial utilization such as feedstock selection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Coal sample and methanol were mixed and heated to 310 °C and kept at that temperature for 2 h. The solvent was under supercritical state at 310 °C and the solubility for the solid mixture increased. Soluble products from thermal dissolution of two Chinese coals were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The iso-abundance plot for molecules in coals was upgraded to display the distributions of isomers which are indicated as concentric circles or triangles with the same carbon number and value of double-bond equivalent. The concentration ratio was introduced from economics to describe the content inequality of organic species within the same class of coal molecules.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interpretation methods for mass spectra visualize and simplify the understanding of complex components in coals for industrial utilization. Coals with a high concentration ratio for a specific class should take priority as a feedstock for chemicals and receive more attention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5530-5563
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Liu
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Pei
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, East China Institute of Technology, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330013, China.
authors.forename: Teng-Gao
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization (Ministry of Education), China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Yong
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: News Center of CUMT, China University of Mining & Technology, Jiangsu, 221116, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Li
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lu