Pick the right combination of ions to make your solvent and it is possible to dissolve coal, a wide range of plastics, many metals and even some rocks.

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With respect to clean coal technology, it is not possible at this point to completely eliminate coal from the menu of our energy options.

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By contrast, Mitt Romney had favored a cap-and-trade system while he was governor of Massachusetts but he has since changed his mind and has done everything possible to curry favor with coal constituencies.

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The National Development and Reform Commission said coal production should resume as quickly as possible in Sichuan province, which accounts for 4 percent of the country's coal production, AP reported.

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Another possible fix for the long run: coal gasification.

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GreatPoint relied on widely available technology wherever possible, including the fluidized-bed reactor, common in power plants across the country, in which pulverized coal is combined with oxygen so it burns more efficiently.

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