A transient group combustion model for the pulverized coal particles in a spherical cloud is developed to predict the transient group combustion characteristics. The submodels, which account for the detailed combustion process of both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions, are also applied for the pulverized coal particles. The numerical simulation of the collective behaviors of ignition and its subsequent burning were carried out. The ignition mechanism is characterized by the heterogeneous process of the dilute cloud and the homogeneous process of the dense cloud. Two dominant flame structures are observed: one flame penetrating inside the cloud and the other moving outside the cloud. The effects of various parameters (i.e., radiation heat transfer, group combustion number, air temperature, air oxygen concentration, particle size distribution, and particle number density) on the particle mass burning rate and on the overall performance of the group combustion are examined. The results are in good agreement with existing experimental data. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.