A new non-evaporative coal dewatering method was presented, in which a bed of coal was contacted with a flowing non-polar solvent at less than 200degreesC. Water in coal was released by thermal energy added and the released water was dissolved into solvent and was carried away from the coal bed. When the solvent was recovered at room temperature. most of water is separated from the solvent due to the decrease in the solubility of water in the solvent. Then the water is easily separated from the solvent by decantation. This method, therefore, removes water without causing phase change of water. When an Australian brown coal whose water content was 50% was treated by tetralin at 150degreesC, the water content was reduced to less than 2%. This clarified that the presented method is more effective than the other methods from both the energy saving viewpoint and dewatering efficiency, The mechanism of dewatering was discussed based on the strength of hydrogen bonds formed between coal and water and the change in the solubility of water in the solvent with increasing temperature. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.