Symposium History

The Low-Rank Fuels Symposium has a long history: the first symposium was held in 1961. It was organized under the joint sponsorship of the University of North Dakota (UND) and the Federal Bureau of Mines and was held on the UND Campus in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Those attending represented industry, government, and educational institutions from 17 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces.

Over the many years since the symposium began, it has been international in scope and has addressed issues related to the efficient and environmentally acceptable use of lignite (brown coal), subbituminous coal, and peat. The 18th Low-Rank Fuels Symposium will address advances in low-rank coal utilization technologies as well as emerging issues such as mercury emissions, coalbed methane, and nonfuel uses.