Sulfur removal from coal prior to combustion is an ideal form of sulfur emission control. Pyrolysis is likely to be an effective way to transform sulfur in coal to gas and liquid phases and to generate chars of low sulfur for clean combustion. This article presents recent research on the effects of organic additives on sulfur removal from a Spanish coal and 3 Chinese coals (Yanzhou, Datong, and Xianfeng) by pyrolysis. The coal samples were pyrolyzed in a fixed-bed reactor in a temperature range up to 700degreesC. Ethanol or acetone was introduced to a pyrolysis atmosphere. It was observed that the introduction of the organic reagents in pyrolysis altered the behavior of sulfur removal as well as the evolution of volatile matter from coals, which resulted in lower sulfur content chars and higher char yields than that in hydrogen and nitrogen. The desulfurization efficiency increases with increasing ethanol or acetone addition. For Datong coal, the promotion of ethanol and acetone on sulfur removal was the most remarkable. Based on XPS information, the promotive effect is contributed to selective oxidation of organic sulfur.