The molecular composition
of organic
matter formed during pyrolysis is complex. Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR) is a good technique to investigate the coal chemical
structural evolution. However, reports on the effects of chemical
structure on the
n
-alkane yields and their relative
functional groups are scarce in the literature. In our case, the chemical
structural evolution process of bituminous coal obtained by pyrolysis
at two different heating rates has been analyzed by pyrolysis-gas
chromatography (Py-GC) and FTIR. Furthermore, some of the small molecular
compounds (e.g.,
n
-alkanes 24 can generate
n
-alkanes 20 or low-weight compounds) generated by gold-tube
pyrolysis were identified using other GC techniques. Biomarkers were
analyzed and compared to generated
n
-alkanes from
the gold-tube pyrolysis experiments. We present the results of the
relationship between the FTIR parameters and the molecular compositions
that were analyzed. A good linear relationship can be seen between
the FTIR parameters (C=O, C=C, and
C
-factor values), the carbon preference index (CPI), and the ratio
of the pristane content and
n
-C
17
alkane
content (Pr/
n
-C
17
). Furthermore, the
n
-alkane fraction of the pyrolysates, in particular pristane,
phytane,
n
-C
17
alkane, and
n
-C
18
alkane, changed upon maturation. Our conclusions
indicate that FTIR is applicable as a structural and chemical change
probe to explore the pyrolysis process.