During the last decade there has been a renewed interest in under standing from a fundamental point of view the gasification of carbon. Basi cally there are two major issues in controlling the reactivity of carbon: i) reduction of the gasification rate of carbon materials in hostile environment ii) increase of the gasification rate in order to utilize carbonaceous compounds more effectively. Although these two objectives look somewhat contradictory, they are part of the general topics of understanding gasification reactivity of carbon. Refractory applications of carbon in furnace linings, seals and vanes, as well as the use of carbon-carbon or carbon-ceramic composites in struc tures able to withstand corrosion at high temperature require a better understanding of the fundamentals involved in carbon-oxidizing gas (02' CO, H 0) reactions. Furthermore a great interest of aluminium producers 2 2 is 10 extending the lifetime of carbon electrodes in alumina electrolysis which primarily depends on reducing their consumption rates by air or carbon dioxide. Proper control of gasification reactions is also of prime importance in manufacturing carbonaceous adsorbents like granular activated carbon clothes of high adsorption characteristics. The balance between increase of porosity and decrease in mechanical strength during activation is critical for developing new porous types of carbon materials in particular for carbon clothes and this can only be achieved by a careful control of the gasification reaction."

During the last decade there has been a renewed interest in under standing from a fundamental point of view the gasification of carbon. Basi cally there are two major issues in controlling the reactivity of carbon: i) reduction of the gasification rate of carbon materials in hostile environment ii) increase of the gasification rate in order to utilize carbonaceous compounds more effectively. Although these two objectives look somewhat contradictory, they are part of the general topics of understanding gasification reactivity of carbon. Refractory applications of carbon in furnace linings, seals and vanes, as well as the use of carbon-carbon or carbon-ceramic composites in struc tures able to withstand corrosion at high temperature require a better understanding of the fundamentals involved in carbon-oxidizing gas (02' CO, H 0) reactions. Furthermore a great interest of aluminium producers 2 2 is 10 extending the lifetime of carbon electrodes in alumina electrolysis which primarily depends on reducing their consumption rates by air or carbon dioxide. Proper control of gasification reactions is also of prime importance in manufacturing carbonaceous adsorbents like granular activated carbon clothes of high adsorption characteristics. The balance between increase of porosity and decrease in mechanical strength during activation is critical for developing new porous types of carbon materials in particular for carbon clothes and this can only be achieved by a careful control of the gasification reaction."

The study of coal for the production of energy is certainly not a new area of research. Many research works were carried out to improve the efficiency of industrial and domestic facilities. In the sixties, however, because of the availability and low cost of petroleum, coal consumption decreased and the research effort in this area was minimum. Meanwhile, the situation has totally changed. Considering the reserves of oil and the instability ofregions where they are located, it is becoming absolutely necessary to develop other sources of energy.The major alternative to oil appears to be coal, at least for the near future. Indeed, the reserves known today represent several centuries of energy consumption. t is therefore becoming urgent to develop efficient and non polluting technologies to produce energy from coal. The main possibilities are: . liquefaction . gasification . directed combustion. Research and development efforts on liquefaction have been considerably reduced because of high cost of technologies involved and poor prospects for the next two decades. Research works on gasification are progressing; it is a promising approach. However, direct combustion either in pulverized coal furnaces or in fluidized beds is the more promising way of expanding rapidly the utilization of coal. These techniques are already used in some facilities but many environmental problems remain, slowing down their development."