NOVELTY - Pulverized coal is extruded inside a pipe support and a clay tube is extruded inside it so that the coal is located in the annulus between the inner clay and the outer pipe. Fuel is burned inside the clay tube: the clay is fired and the coal is pyrolyzed, the gases escaping through holes in the support tube. The gas is treated to produce a liquid hydrocarbon product.    USE - For production of liquid fuels from coal and waste plastics.    ADVANTAGE - Energy-efficient method using low-grade coal and waste plastics to produce a useful fuel. Has reduced environmental impact compared with e.g. coking.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The pyrolysis gases are treated by first removing dust, then passing them through an ionizing chamber where they are partially ionized. The gases are then passed through a magnetic field, which separates the ionized components according to their molecular weight. Selected fractions are remixed, cooled and condensed to form the product. Dust removal is accomplished by passing the gases through a bed of perforated metal balls: the dust is deposited on the balls, which are cleaned by removing some of them from the dedusting chamber, blasting them with a high-pressure inert gas, and returning them to the chamber (claimed). The pyrolysis residue is treated by crushing and cooling the mixture of char and fired clay, separating out the clay, pulverizing the char, and suspending it in a hydrocarbon liquid derived from the treatment of waste plastics materials (claimed). During the pyrolysis step, the support tube should be rotated and the gases generated by pyrolysis should be released into an inert atmosphere (claimed). The gases may be cooled and condensed by cryogenic methods, and at least two of the separated fractions are used in the final liquid product (claimed). An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for a method of converting both coal and waste plastics into liquid fuel, where the coal is treated as above and the plastics material is heated and compressed at a high temperature in the presence of water. The compression should take place at a fast enough rate to expel any chlorine ions from the waste material, forming hydrogen chloride.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows a view of a plant used for the coal pyrolysis process and the treatment of waste plastics.    Plastics treatment unit (A)    coal pyrolysis unit (B)    plastics compressor (3)    extruder. (11)