Characteristics of carbon emissions and low-carbon pathway design for different mining technologies in open-pit coal mines

This study aims to scientifically quantify the carbon emission intensity of various open-pit mining techniques and clarify their differences in carbon emissions, and thereby support the selection of low-carbon alternatives in open-pit coal mining.Based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, carbon emission sources across the full life cycle of different open-pit coal mining techniques were identified.Taking each production stage as the research subject, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was systematically employed to analyze the carbon emission intensity characteristics of five mining techniques: the single-bucket truck discontinuous process, the single-bucket truck semi-mobile crushing station semi-continuous process, the bucket-wheel continuous process, the single-bucket self-moving crusher semi-continuous process, and the cast blasting-dragline stripping process.The research results indicate that the carbon emission intensities of the five mining techniques differ significantly.The carbon emissions of these techniques, in descending order from highest to lowest, are: the single-bucket truck discontinuous process, the single-bucket truck semi-mobile crushing station semi-continuous process(approximately equal to the single-bucket self-moving crusher semi-continuous process), the bucket-wheel continuous process, and the cast blasting-dragline stripping process.The transportation and disposal stage is the core emission source for most mining techniques, accounting for 47.06% to 87.49% of total carbon emissions.In terms of carbon emission composition, the single-bucket truck discontinuous process is primarily driven by diesel consumption, accounting for 82.55% to 87.49%, while the single-bucket truck semi-mobile crushing station semi-continuous process is mainly driven by electricity consumption, accounting for 42.41% to 69.47%.Comprehensive optimization and configuration of mining techniques can significantly reduce carbon emissions.For the single-bucket truck semi-mobile crushing station semi-continuous process, adopting a large-bandwidth conveyor system can lower carbon emissions by 12% to 15%.For the single-bucket truck process, scaling up equipment in the transportation stage can reduce carbon emission intensity by 18%, while replacing diesel-powered equipment with electric-powered alternatives can cut carbon emission intensity by 80%.