NOVELTY - Producing fuel briquettes from fine coal involves forming pellets (12) from coal fines where the pellets have an average weight of 2-50.0 g and an average exterior surface area of 0.1-50 cm2, drying the pellets to a moisture content of 1.0-10.0%, and forming fuel briquettes from the dried pellets.    USE - For producing fuel briquettes from fine coal; for producing pelletized fuel product (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The method allows the production of high-quality, low-moisture briquettes from high-moisture fine coal, such as that discarded in the waste-stream slurry at a coal preparation plant, or from blends of wet fine coal and biomass in a manner that is less expensive and safer than current technologies. The pellets, unlike the coal fines, are more amenable to moisture reduction with little or no dust formation. This is due to the nature of the pellets which resist becoming entrained in the air or gas stream while permitting the moisture to migrate relatively short distances to the pellet surface. The pellets formed with a relatively low density allow relatively quick and efficient moisture removal. The briquettes formed from such a homogeneous mixture have a relatively consistent strength throughout and are better able to withstand subsequent handling while maintaining their integrity. Thus, the briquettes so formed have better resist breakage and dust generation. The briquettes have a relatively high density, which provides the briquettes with the desired strength to safely withstand subsequent handling without disintegrating. Thus, the briquettes can be delivered whole to a coal-fired utility boiler for consumption. This reduces product loss, fuel waste and environmental contamination with coal fines and dust. Typically, the briquettes have a density, following processing, that is 1-34% greater than the pellets from which the briquettes are made. The apparatus and method allows one to quickly, safely and efficiently convert high-moisture content coal fines having a low-heating value to produce high quality, low-moisture fuels that behave in an acceptable manner during shipping, handling, and combustion while simultaneously providing significant reductions of flue-gas emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The method also allows one to convert waste biomass into a valuable energy resource on a meaningful scale. Commercial utilization of biomass suffers from a variety of obstacles including low energy density, making transport expensive, as well as significant capital investment needed to utilize biomass directly in existing coal-fired industrial or utility boilers. The high quality fuel briquettes produced from coal fines and biomass using the apparatus and method, have reduced moisture content and a high durability. Thus, the briquettes can be transported as a dense, free-flowing solid and then stored, crushed and conveyed for use in existing equipment. Thus, co-briquetting of biomass with cleaned fine waste coal represents a practical and economical unit for generating electric power from biomass or for producing a fuel suitable for the stoker coal market. This is of particular significance to the steam and stoker fuel markets which face ever higher costs for low-sulfur coals needed to meet emission standards. Forming the coal fines into pellets reduces the moisture contents of the fines in a more efficient and effective manner. The dried pellets display significantly improved handling characteristics as compared to high-moisture content coal fines and thus provide a more consistent feed stream for the production of a higher quality fuel product briquette. While run stoppages are reduced, production speeds are also increased.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for the following:    (1) a fuel briquette processing apparatus (10) comprising a pelletizer that forms coal fine pellets, a dryer that dries coal fine pellets, and a fuel briquette former, where the coal fine pelletizer, pellet dryer and fuel briquette former (16) are all provided in-line for efficient production of fuel briquettes; and    (2) a pelletized fuel product comprising a pellet made from coal fines (18) (70-98 wt.%) and biomass (2-30 wt.%).    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a schematic block diagram of the fuel briquette processing apparatus.    Apparatus (10)    Pelletizer (12)    Pellet dryer (14)    Briquette former (16)    Coal fine supply source (18)    Binder supply source (20, 26)    Biomass supply source (22, 28)    Water source (24)