Aspects of Coal Tar Chemistry/A Review

A review of some aspects of coal tar chemistry is presented. Topics covered include: coal tar as a by-product of blast furnace coke production from hard coal; industrial uses of coal tar; chemical composition of coal tar (particularly with regard to polycyclic aromatic compounds PAC); preparation, purification and purity testing of PAC from coal tar; structure determination of unknown PAC derived from tar or by synthesis; high temperature chemistry of PAC in the gas and liquid phase.