Fractionation, chemical analysis, and mutagenicity testing of low-Btu coal gasifier tar

A tar from a low-Btu coal gasifier was subjected to parallel fractionation, chemical analysis, and bacterial mutagenicity (Salmonella) assay. Like other coal-derived tars, it was a complex mixture containing some high-molecular-weight material and several classes of organic compounds as major constituents. The results of bacterial mutagenicity testing of fractions and subfractions of the tar suggest that neutral nitrogen-containing compounds, phenols, organic bases, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and some uncharacterized high-molecular-weight materials are mutagenic to Salmonella and therefore are potentially mutagenic in higher systems.