Data on the sulfur-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds of high-sulfur coal of SW China

The data presented in this article are related to the research paper entitled “Origin and geological implications of super high sulfur-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds in high-sulfur coal” by Zhao et al. [1]. The collected data of high-sulfur coal, including the coalfield, geological age, coal rank, sulfur content, and depositional environment were from all over the world. Polycyclic aromatic compounds from 15 coal and 4 parting samples were identified and quantified using gas chromatograph (GC) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Approximately, 145 polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) in each sample were identified. Among them, 70 compounds are sulfur-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (SPACs). The highest ratio of total SPAC/ PAC was reached 89.22 wt% in the coal and 83.07 wt% in the parting samples.