Alkali metal, sulphur, and chlorine species released during coal gasification are of concern, because they can lead to problems in colder parts of the plant. Therefore, hot gas cleaning technology is recently under development. This clean-up strategy requires a comprehensive knowledge of the release characteristics of inorganic compounds. The principal objective of this work was to provide details of the influence of pressure on the release of key chemical species, e. g. sodium, potassium, sulphur, and chlorine. Hence, a total of 19 different coals were investigated in lab-scale gasification experiments in an electrical heated pressurised furnace at absolute pressures of 2, 4, and 6 bar in an atmosphere of He/7.5v%O(2) at 1325 degrees C. Hot gas analysis was carried out by molecular beam mass spectrometry. The quantitative results showed a decreasing release of 3(4)H(2)S(+), (36)HCl(+), (39)K(+)/(39)NaO(+), (58)NaCl(+), (64)SO(2)(+), and (74)KCl(+) with increasing pressure. The discussion was supported by thermodynamic calculations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.