The purpose of this contract is to examine the utility and advantages of x-ray computed tomography (CT) for investigating the structure within coal and the changes that occur in these structures during such processes as combustion and gasification. The CT technique is noninvasive and nondestructive. It can produce interior views of the coal and, with a data acquisition time of ca 9 seconds, can be used for following many coal processes in real time. This is the first in-depth study of the application of the x-ray tomography technique to the problems in coal utilization, and consequently, considerable time will be spent in the early stages of this contract in examining CT pictures of coal and relating them to more conventional petrographic and mineral analyses. This phase of the work is being undertaken in Task 1 of the contract and is reported for this period. Building on this foundation, the succeeding tasks will follow changes in the coal structure during reaction. The first series of CT experiments is scheduled to take place on December 11-13, 1982, at the General Electric Company, Medical Systems Operation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 4 figures, 1 table.