Application of life cycle assessment to estimate environmental impacts of surface coal mining

摘要: Coal plays an important role in meeting the energy needs of World. Given its abundance and low cost, use is bound to increase with growing demand. Despite importance, there are concerns over coal’s environmental burdens. In order extract coal a sustainable manner, sustainability assessment has be comprehensive. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides systematic quantifiable measures for assessing burdens products processes. Extensive LCA work been done on use, particularly electricity generation, but, mining stage neglected, most part. This resulted data gaps life cycle inventory (LCI) and, consequently, LCIs other that linked coal. The situation incomplete assessments extraction potential suboptimal strategies reducing impacts coal, especially stage. aim this study was employ general principles ISO 14040-49 series standards, adapting them where necessary, estimate cradle-to-gate from surface United States. Five strip mines produce bituminous were used as case studies. assessed water land abiotic resource depletion climate change each mine compared performances based impacts. For studied mines, impact 178 liters/tonne processed at gate. range 3 10 myear/tonne. vary 97 181 MJ/tonne, 7.8 9.4 kg Sb-equivalent/tonne, 38 92 CO2–equivalent/tonne. insight into contributions processes results contribute much needed information fill LCI provide baseline can aid industry public policy makers development policies sustainably exploit