The economics of alternatives to coal combustion, coupled with concerns about coal's significant role in climate change emissions and air pollution, have put intense downward pressure on coal markets, especially in the United States. As coal power generation in much of the world is declining (China being the largest exception), there is renewed interest in how to sustainably, and effectively, use coal without combusting it. A non-exhaustive review of various possible uses for coal across the chemical and material sectors, is provided. Advanced materials and chemicals derived from coal may offer attractive avenues for further research and development that could lay the groundwork for future manufacturing and processing. However, many current applications suffer from being either uneconomic or producing high levels of emissions across their lifecycle.
