TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Components: The biomass is selected from a group of biomass materials consisting of switch grass, micanthus, sawdust, wood flour, fescue, weeds, processed sorghum, lignosulfonate, wheat straw, tall oil, paper sludge, agricultural residue, corn stover, distiller's grain, and/or extracted molasses.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The pellet forming step involves (wt.%) adding binder (1-15); and biomass (2-3); and adding water to encourage pellet nucleation and growth. The method involves disintegrating the pellets prior to forming fuel briquettes; mixing disintegrated pellets and added binder so as to form a homogenous mixture and forming briquettes from the mixture. The briquette forming step involves (wt.%) adding binder (1-15); and biomass (2-3). The method involves forming pellets with a density (D1) and forming briquettes with a density (D2) (where D2 is greater than D1, preferably at least 10% greater than D1, especially 15% greater than D1); and completing pellet forming, pellet drying and briquette forming steps at a coal preparation facility or at a coal fines disposal site. The briquettes are formed while the mixture is 80-200 degrees C. The briquette forming step includes making briquettes having an average weight of 2-100.0 g and an average exterior surface area of 0.2-100 cm2. The pellet forming step includes making spherical pellets having an average diameter of 0.1-5.0 cm; or making cylindrical pellets having an average diameter of 0.1-5.0 cm and lengths of 0.1-20.0 cm. The drying step involves forced air drying at ambient temperature; or drying with a stream of hot heated gas, heated air or hot flue gas. The pellet forming, pellet drying and briquette forming steps are all completed in-line. Preferred Apparatus: The coal fine pelletizer is a first apparatus selected from a disk pelletizer, a pan pelletizer, a pin pelletizer, a drum roll, a rotary pelletizer and an extruder. The pellet dryer is a second apparatus selected from a conveyed-bed dryer, a moving-bed dryer, a fixed bed dryer, a moving-bed forced air dryer, a fixed-bed forced air dryer, an ambient-temperature air dryer, a moving-bed flue-gas dryer and a fixed-bed flue-gas dryer; and the briquette former is a third apparatus selected from a continuous-roller briquetter, a ram briquetter, a piston briquetter and an extruder. The apparatus further comprises an in-line disintegrator that disintegrates the dried coal fine pellets; and a mixer that mixes the disintegrated coal fine pellets with at least one of a binder and biomass. Preferred Product: In the pelletized fuel product, the coal fines (1-15 wt.%) is replaced with a binder.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Components: The binder is selected from a group of binder materials consisting of lignin, a lignin and asphalt emulsion, wheat starch, lignosulfonate, tall oil, coal tar, polyvinyl alcohol, phenolic resin, paper sludge, molasses, lime, gaur gum, and/or polymer material. EXAMPLE - Coal fines (having a moisture content of approximately 12 wt.% and a particle diameter of less than 16 mesh) were blended with processed sorghum, chopped weeds, extracted molasses, and calcined lime having a combined weight comprising 20 wt.% of the blend. This blend was formed into spherical pellets having diameters that ranged from 1-3 cm in an inclined-pan pelletizer with water added during pelletization to encourage pellet nucleation and growth. The pellets were then air dried in a static-bed configuration to approximately 9 wt.% moisture and then briquetted. The fuel briquettes thus formed had an average weight of approximately 4.5 g, compressive strengths in excess of 100 pounds force, a moisture free heating value of 12219 Btu/lb, a bulk density of 40.8 lb/ft3, an attrition index of 0.79, and which exhibited resistance to degradation during submersion in water. The briquettes were then burned in an industrial stoker furnace where they were fed and combusted without modification to the furnace and where they exhibited reductions in flue-gas emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) of 13.8% and 11.1%, respectively, relative to the compliance coal used at that facility.