Pretreatment of coal in steam is being explored with the goal of improving the economic attractiveness of coal gasification by cogeneration of light liquid fuels. A literature survey has been completed and submitted to DOE for review. Workers in the field, as well as the available literature, were surveyed for information on the design, construction and operation of dry coal feeders. Based on this information, a linear feeder was selected, designed, and constructed. In a series of off-line tests, modifications were made and tentative operating procedures established. The feeder was then installed on the reactor system and tested under operating conditions. The desired feed rates were obtained with no plugging of the feed tube. The system was found to be sensitive to variations in reactor pressure. Procedures were formulated to avoid such changes. Satisfactory feeder performance was achieved. Characterization of pretreated coal by solvent extraction was tested this quarter with excellent results. Thirteen coal batches were pretreated at various temperatures in steam and, for comparison, in helium. Twenty-seven extractions were carried out, including five of raw coal, using pyridine. To avoid thermal alteration of pretreated coal, extractions were carried out at room temperature. The results parallel our previous results on the pyrolysis of pretreated coal: pretreated coal gives about twice the extract yield of raw coal; extract yield is a maximum when pretreatment is at 340/sup 0/C; pretreatment in helium does not improve extract yield; the effect of pretreatment on extract yield is destroyed if pretreated coal is exposed to air. These results support the theory that pretreatment partially depolymerises coal. Characterization of these extracts is expected to provide information on the chemistry of pretreatment. 12 figs., 2 tabs.