{"title":"Integrated air quality prediction and mitigation strategies for sustainable mining operations in India","authors":"Swades Kumar Chaulya, Shailendra Kumar Singh, Siddharth Singh, Gautam Chandra Mondal, Ranjeet Kumar Singh, Sameer Shekhar","doi":"10.1007/s11869-025-01720-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The study focuses on dual purpose of forecasting air pollution levels and implementing eco-friendly dust suppression methods for a planned expansion of a lignite mine in India, aligning with the goal of achieving sustainable mining practices. The main objective is to predict the highest concentration of dust emissions from the mine, both with and without the implementation of mitigation measures. The study determined the baseline levels of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub>, and NO<sub>x</sub> in the surrounding of the mine site. The recorded values ranged from 53.1–79.5, 20.2–43.2, 16.6–31.2, and 21.2–50.1 µg m<sup>–3</sup>, correspondingly. The concentrations detected were below the allowable thresholds of 100, 60, 80, and 80 µg m<sup>–3</sup>, correspondingly. Air quality modelling was conducted to forecast the air quality in the vicinity of the lignite mine, both with and without the implementation of control measures during the project's expansion phase. This was achieved by measuring background air pollutants level, assessing emission sources, determining activity-specific emission rates, analysing micro-meteorological parameters, and identifying receptor locations. Without the application of control measures, the projected levels of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub>, and NO<sub>x</sub> are assessed to range from 73.9–97.1, 31.9–44.2, 11.46–21.09, and 15.27–28.40 µg m<sup>–3</sup>, respectively. However, by employing mitigation measures during the mine's expansion operation, it is expected that the amounts of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub>, and NO<sub>x</sub> will be within the range of 73.5–82.5, 31.8–43.8, 9.38–20.14, and 13.17–25.45 µg m<sup>–3</sup>, respectively. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the air pollutants will persist lower than the allowable limits in the surrounding buffer zone with control measures. Hence, the study also proposes effective measures to control dust pollution, together with a comprehensive description of the developed intelligent dust suppression systems those can be utilized at different dust-emission sources within the opencast mine for ecofriendly and clean mining.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49109,"journal":{"name":"Air Quality Atmosphere and Health","volume":"18 5","pages":"1615 - 1633"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Air Quality Atmosphere and Health","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-025-01720-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The study focuses on dual purpose of forecasting air pollution levels and implementing eco-friendly dust suppression methods for a planned expansion of a lignite mine in India, aligning with the goal of achieving sustainable mining practices. The main objective is to predict the highest concentration of dust emissions from the mine, both with and without the implementation of mitigation measures. The study determined the baseline levels of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NOx in the surrounding of the mine site. The recorded values ranged from 53.1–79.5, 20.2–43.2, 16.6–31.2, and 21.2–50.1 µg m–3, correspondingly. The concentrations detected were below the allowable thresholds of 100, 60, 80, and 80 µg m–3, correspondingly. Air quality modelling was conducted to forecast the air quality in the vicinity of the lignite mine, both with and without the implementation of control measures during the project's expansion phase. This was achieved by measuring background air pollutants level, assessing emission sources, determining activity-specific emission rates, analysing micro-meteorological parameters, and identifying receptor locations. Without the application of control measures, the projected levels of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NOx are assessed to range from 73.9–97.1, 31.9–44.2, 11.46–21.09, and 15.27–28.40 µg m–3, respectively. However, by employing mitigation measures during the mine's expansion operation, it is expected that the amounts of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NOx will be within the range of 73.5–82.5, 31.8–43.8, 9.38–20.14, and 13.17–25.45 µg m–3, respectively. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the air pollutants will persist lower than the allowable limits in the surrounding buffer zone with control measures. Hence, the study also proposes effective measures to control dust pollution, together with a comprehensive description of the developed intelligent dust suppression systems those can be utilized at different dust-emission sources within the opencast mine for ecofriendly and clean mining.
期刊介绍:
Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health is a multidisciplinary journal which, by its very name, illustrates the broad range of work it publishes and which focuses on atmospheric consequences of human activities and their implications for human and ecological health.
It offers research papers, critical literature reviews and commentaries, as well as special issues devoted to topical subjects or themes.
International in scope, the journal presents papers that inform and stimulate a global readership, as the topic addressed are global in their import. Consequently, we do not encourage submission of papers involving local data that relate to local problems. Unless they demonstrate wide applicability, these are better submitted to national or regional journals.
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health addresses such topics as acid precipitation; airborne particulate matter; air quality monitoring and management; exposure assessment; risk assessment; indoor air quality; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modeling and prediction; air pollution climatology; climate change and air quality; air pollution measurement; atmospheric impact assessment; forest-fire emissions; atmospheric science; greenhouse gases; health and ecological effects; clean air technology; regional and global change and satellite measurements.
This journal benefits a diverse audience of researchers, public health officials and policy makers addressing problems that call for solutions based in evidence from atmospheric and exposure assessment scientists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors. Publication in the journal affords the opportunity to reach beyond defined disciplinary niches to this broader readership.