A general picture of the present state of coal science from the internation
al point of view is presented. This is based on an analysis of papers deliv
ered at the International Conferences on Coal Science (ICCS) organized betw
een 1981 and 1997, with special emphasis on the last two meetings (8th: 199
5 and 9th: 1997). The progression of papers during the 1981-1997 period has
been analyzed and is presented according to scientific topics. The analysi
s shows that there is a progressive decrease in the number of papers concer
ning coal liquefaction and an increase in the area of environmental coal sc
ience. The geographical origin of the papers is also examined and some rela
tions between scientific topics and countries are inferred. It can be seen
that coal science is a subject of universal interest (involving no fewer th
an 40 different countries) and that in recent years, as many as 16% of the
papers presented at the ICCSs have been produced as a result of internation
al cooperation, which is particularly effective in the area of coal charact
erization. In addition, the most frequent cases of transnational cooperatio
n are indicated; the principal bodies financing coal science research are i
dentified and the leading roles of the European Coal and Steel Community (E
CSC) in the European Union, the New Energy Development Organization (NEDO)
in Japan and the Department of Energy (DOE) of the USA are emphasized. (C)
2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.