Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements. Coal focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization.

This book is a direct outgrowth of classes that the authors gave over a period of three decades to a university audience taking a Mineral Beneficiation course as a major that included coal processing and utilization. It is designed to be used as a student's (or layman's) first introduction to coal processing and utilization, motivating the concepts

"Between 1978 and 1980, Canadian coal preparation plants produced between 18.6 and 22.5 x 106 tonnes of clean coal annually. Data based on samples taken at the ten operating washeries during the period indicated that the average industry-wide yield of 73.1% was achieved with an organic efficiency of 93.4% and that losses of saleable coal to the refuse amounting to 1.3-1.7 x 106 tonnes could be valued at close to $37.5 million per year"--Summary, p. v.