The heat evolved by mixing of methanol and a coal was measured by flow microcalorimetry (FMC) to investigate interactions between coal and methanol. Such interactions were classified into weak and strong adsorption. Two adsorption methods were used : continuous flow for measuring combined weak and strong adsorption, and pulse injection to distinguish strong adsorption. Akabira bituminous coal and Yallourn brown coal, having different oxygen contents, were used as adsorbents. Experimental results achieved by the continuous flow method show that both amount and heat of methanol adsorption (2 g of methanol/L in n-hexane) depends on the structure of coal. Methanol uptakes were also measured, off-line, by immersing the coals in methanol-hexane solutions of different concentrations and comparing methanol concentrations in n-hexane before and after adsorption. Methanol adsorption isotherms so obtained have the same shape and the total uptakes of methanol adsorption are almost the same in spite of different coal rank. Strong adsorption of methanol gives a molar heat distribution between 30 and 60 kJ/mol, slightly higher than the hydrogen bond energies in donor-acceptor systems. Strong methanol adsorption may be attributed to formation of new hydrogen bonds between methanol and oxygen-containing functional groups on the coal. The molar heat of adsorption for methanol adsorbed by weak interactions with coal is about 23 kJ/mol. The site for strong methanol adsorption on Yallourn brown coal is more energetically heterogeneous than that on Akabira bituminous coal.