One of the major constituents of lignites and other coals is the hydrogen-rich maceral-group, liptinite. Liptinite is composed of waxes, fats and oils (1) primarily from plant cuticles, as well as spore and pollen exines (palynomorphs). Liptinite is being mechanically separated from North Dakota lignites as a means of better understanding coal chemistry and the coalification process. After the coal has been sufficiently pulverized, it is thoroughly suspended in an aqueous ZnCl/sub 2/ solution which has a specific gravity of 1.25. Suspension is achieved by first thoroughly mixing the coal and the ZnCl/sub 2/ solution, then agitating the mixture in an ultrasonic bath for approximately 10 minutes. The mixture is centrifuged for approximately 1/2 hour at approximately 3000 revolutions per minute. After collecting and filtering the supernatant, the solids from the filtration are then resuspended in an aqueous ZnCl/sub 2/ solution (specific gravity 1.25) and the centrifugation step repeated. When this procedure was performed on North Dakota lignites, the supernatant was filtered and the resulting residue was found to be rich in liptinite macerals, especially palynomorphs. The procedure outlined is a relatively quick and easy way to produce concentrations of liptinite macerals. It appears that the macerals present in North Dakota lignites are easy to separate. Low-rank coal macerals have remained more distinct entities, perhaps making them easier to separate from each other, than macerals from coals of higher rank.