Rapid and accurate measurement of the calorific value of incoming coal is the essential to provide guidance for the economic and safe operation of power plants. However

coal has complex components

and the calorific value is correlated with elemental composition and molecular structure

it is difficult to measure coal calorific value quickly and accurately by a single analytical technique. Based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy(NIRS)

a method is proposed to detect the calorific value of incoming coal by combining two techniques. The LIBS and NIRS spectral signals of the coal on the conveyor belt are collected simultaneously. Fusion of two spectral information after data pre-processing

coupled with partial least squares(PLS) modeling method to quantify coal calorific value. This method is used in a coal sample measurement system built by lab

it is reached that the coefficient of determination of the calibration set was 0.98

and the root mean square error of the prediction set was 0.37 MJ/kg

with an average absolute error of 0.26 MJ/kg and an average relative error of 1.09%. The results show that the proposed method of simultaneous acquisition of LIBS and NIRS signals can measure coal calorific value rapidly and accurately.