A laboratory scale spouted bed combustor was used to study the effectiveness of various control methodologies in alleviating ash-related problems such as particle agglomeration and bed defluidisation during fluid bed combustion of low-rank coals. The three control techniques investigated are: (i) the use of mineral additives; (ii) alternative bed materials; and (iii) pretreatment of coal, Mineral additives, including dolomite, two clays and gibbsite, were injected into the spouted bed combustor while burning a South Australian low-rank coal at 800 degrees C. Samples of the same coal treated with Al, water washing and acid washing were also tested in the spouted bed combustor. In addition, experiments were also conducted with alternative bed materials including bauxite and calcined sillimanite. Experiments showed that the three techniques reported in this paper are effective to different extents in reducing particle agglomeration and defluidisation. Among the mineral additives tested, gibbsite and a clay additive rich in kaolinite and sillimanite were found to be most effective. The use of calcined sillimanite and bauxite as alternative bed materials extended the combustion time before defluidisation occurred by 7 and 10 times, respectively, compared to silica sand. While Al pretreatment and water-washing were found effective for control of agglomeration and defluidisation, acid-washing did not improve the operation of the bed burning this particular coal. Al enrichment in ash coating of bed particles which suppress the formation of Na and S rich eutectics was identified as the main mechanism for prevention of agglomeration and defluidisation by these control techniques.