The International Journal of Coal Science & Technology is a peer-reviewed open access journal published under the brand SpringerOpen. It focuses on key topics of coal scientific research and mining development, serving as a forum for scientists to present research findings and discuss challenging issues.

Coverage includes original research articles, new developments, case studies and critical reviews in all aspects of scientific and engineering research on coal, coal utilizations and coal mining. Among the broad topics receiving attention are coal geology, geochemistry, geophysics, mineralogy, and petrology; coal mining theory, technology and engineering; coal processing, utilization and conversion; coal mining environment and reclamation and related aspects.

The International Journal of Coal Science & Technology is published with China Coal Society, who also cover the publication costs so authors do not need to pay an article-processing charge.

The journal operates a single-blind peer-review system, where the reviewers are aware of the names and affiliations of the authors, but the reviewer reports provided to authors are anonymous.

All articles published are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges or registration barriers. Further information about open access can be found at https://www.springeropen.com/about/open-access.

As authors of articles published in International Journal of Coal Science & Technology you are the copyright holders of your article and have granted to any third party, in advance and in perpetuity, the right to use, reproduce or disseminate your article, according to the SpringerOpen copyright and license agreement (https://www.springeropen.com/get-published/copyright/copyright-and-license-agreement).

For those of you who are US government employees or are prevented from being copyright holders for similar reasons, SpringerOpen can accommodate non-standard copyright lines. Please contact info@springeropen.com if further information is needed.

• A forum for new research findings, case studies and discussion of important challenges in coal science and mining development

• Offers an international perspective on coal geology, coal mining, technology and engineering, coal processing, utilization and conversion, coal mining environment and reclamation and more

• Published with the China Coal Society