IDENTIFICATION AND GEOCHEMICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SOME EXTRACTABLE COMPONENTS FROM BOSNIAN BROWN COAL AND THEIR POSSIBLE CONNECTION TO BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY

摘要

Bosnian brown coal was crushed and then extracted with toluene in a Soxhlet extractor. The toluene extract was subjected to analysis by combined GC-MS using a Hewlett/Packard 5988A system and low-voltage high-resolution mass spectrometry (LVHRMS) using a modified Kratos MS-50. Petrographic results indicate that the coal is immature and would be classified as a brown coal. Many biological markers were identified. These findings may have implications related to Balkan Endemic Nephropathy.