II.

Clean Coal Technologies

CCTs are a new generation of advanced coal utilization processes, some of which may be commercially viable early in the 21st century. A wide variety of CCTs exist, but all of them alter the basic structure of coal before, during, or after combustion. In this way they reduce emission of impurities, such as sulphur and nitrogen oxide, and increase the efficiency of energy production. They include improved methods of cleaning coal, fluidized bed combustion, integrated gasification combined cycle, and advanced flue-gas desulphurization.