Coal is more abundant than petroleum and natural gas. Further, coal is not localized but can be used by many more countries than petroleum. Therefore, if we can establish coal utilization technology, coal will bring about a great contribution to human life and society. On the other hand, shortage of petroleum and natural gas are anticipated in the second half of the 21st century. To compensate, the use of coal is expected to gradually increase during the 21st century. In the future, the development of the coal utilization technology will become more and more important to insure the supply of liquid fuels for transportation and carbon sources for the manufacture of chemicals and plastic materials.In order to develop such technologies, the elucidation of the structure of coal is a fundamental area of study. Further, more efficient coal utilization technology must be established to meet environmental legislation. One of the key technologies for this purpose is catalysis. This volume provides detail of the basic and practical aspects of the science and technology of coal utilization with and without catalysts. The actual structure of coal, the chemistry included in the reactivity of coal, the methods to elucidate the structure of coal and re-action mechanisms of coal conversion, the most important catalyst for converting coal to liquid and gas, the role of the catalysts in coal conversion, the problems in the process engineering, and how to meet environmental regulations are discussed in detail. The recent progress in studies on the structure and reactivity of coal made over the last century is summarized and reviewed with emphasis on both fundamental and applied aspects of the science and technology for coal processing in the presence and absence of catalysts. * This book highlights the issues faced in trying to discover more efficient coal utilization technology.* Provides detailed discussion on how to meet environmental regulations and legislation. * Fills the gap between both the scientific and practical sides of coal utilization with and without catalysts.

Analytical Methods for Coal and Coal Products, Volume III, is the third of a three-volume treatise that aims to provide a detailed presentation of what constitutes the first comprehensive reference work devoted exclusively to the subject of analytical methodology for coal and coal products. The three volumes have been divided into a total of twelve parts, each part containing several chapters devoted to a particular subject. The present volume deals with gases, waste products, by-products, environmental problems, and miscellaneous analytical problems, as well as special instrumental techniques for solving various problems. Because different aspects of a particular subject are frequently scattered through various chapters in the volumes, cross-references between chapters have been entered. In addition, the subject indexes have been made as detailed as was practical, and the reader will benefit from examination of pertinent subjects in the indexes of all three volumes. A careful reading of these volumes will show that definitive solutions are not yet available in a number of instances. There is a clear need for continued research on the fundamentals of analysis of coal and coal products, and the development of reliable and accurate analytical instrumentation, including on-stream applications.

Chemically contaminated land has only recently been recognized as an immediate or long-term potential hazard, and published guidance on how to tackle such land has been sparse. Indeed much of the available technical work emphasizes the risks and dangers, rather than indicating safe and economical strategies of reclamation. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the important aspects of land reclamation. Its basic aim is to dispel the myths that have become associated with the subject and to indicate methods and strategies that can be used for safe and economical reclamation. The authors concentrate on the more important facets of reclamation and indicate where advice and information is more or less certain. As in any newly developed field there are still uncertainties and, for this reason, not all the chapters contain equivalent amounts of detail. All the authors have expertise in the field of land reclamation, and differences in emphasis between authors reflect the present state of the subject. Overall, the book emphasizes that contaminated land can be reclaimed safely provided that sufficient attention is paid to detail and that the proposed end use of the land is appropriate and based on a detailed knowledge of the site.

The author presents examples of coal deposits two different continents: from the European Carboniferous and the Permian Gondwana sequence of Australia. The organic and petrographic composition of the coal content of palaeo-environmentally well defined groups of sediments allow the discrimination of two coal facies indices as suitable indicators for distinct settings. Combining the analytical methods of coal petrography, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy an integrated view of coal formation is attained.