THE PHILIPPINE 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 
A. CHEMICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES 
AND THE INDUSTRIES 
Vou. VII OCTOBER, 1912 No. 5 
THE OXIDATION AND DETERIORATION OF COAL.1 
By ALVIN J. Cox. 
(From the Division of General, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, Bureau 
of Science, Manila, P. I.) 
Owing to the necessity of storing coal and to the fact that it 
is being stored in increasing amounts from year to year, it 
appears desirable to investigate the changes which take place 
when coal is exposed to the air. Probably the most notable of 
these changes is the direct addition of oxygen, and it is this with 
its accompanying reactions which I desire to discuss. When 
one considers the comparative uniformity of the composition of 
coals, it is not surprising that the capacity to absorb oxygen 
should be a common property. On the other hand, there is a 
decided difference between the kinds of coal, and, the rate and 
amount of the oxygen absorption partly depends on this factor. 
The literature is full of extravagant statements concerning the 
results of the exposure of coal to atmospheric conditions, yet 
much reliable data has been published on this subject, and the 
idea is generally accepted that a change occurs in bituminous 
and lower grades of coal which is of sufficient magnitude to 
make it of industrial significance. But the economic importance 
of the ever-present, slow oxidation of coal is probably under- 
estimated, and much additional investigation must be carried on 
before we shall arrive at a complete understanding of all the 
factors which influence the deterioration of coal. It seems un- 
*Read before the section on Fuels and Asphalts, Eighth International 
Congress of Applied Chemistry, September 4-18, 1912, Washington and 
New York. 
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