The objective of this activity is to support the Office of Fossil Energy in executing research on coal combustion science. This activity consists of basic research on coal combustion that supports both the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center Direct Utilization Advanced Research and Technology Development Program, and the International Energy Agency Coal Combustion Science Project. Specific tasks for this activity include: (1) coal devolatilization - the objective of this risk is to characterize the physical and chemical processes that constitute the early devolatilization phase of coal combustion as a function of coal type, heating rate, particle size and temperature, and gas phase temperature and oxidizer concentration; (2) coal char combustion -the objective of this task is to characterize the physical and chemical processes involved during coal char combustion as a function of coal type, particle size and temperature, and gas phase temperature and oxygen concentration; (3) fate of mineral matter during coal combustion - the objective of this task is to establish a quantitative understanding of the mechanisms and rates of transformation, fragmentation, and deposition of mineral matter in coal combustion environments as a function of coal type, particle size and temperature, the initial forms and distribution of mineral species in the unreacted coal, and the local gas temperature and composition.