Abstract: A genetic algorithm method of scheduling the delivery of coal to a series of incoming coal trains is disclosed, where each of the coal trains corresponds to a coal recipient having different premium and penalty rates for energy yield, and possibly also different contaminant specifications. The method is applied to a coal facility having a plurality of bins, where the coal is of varying quality at the various bins, and where the bins are grouped so that loading into trains must be done in succession. According to the disclosed method, a fitness function is generated, with adjustable weighting factors, to combine the premium or penalty revenue with any latency or delay time, as well as moves of the coal loading plow for the series of slots. A randomly selected first generation of assignment sequences are evaluated according to the fitness function, with succeeding generations produced according to genetic techniques, until convergence to the optimum assignment sequence is reached.

Abstract: A method for producing dried particulate coal fuel and electricity from a low rank particulate coal in a combined process.