Environmental assessment of alternative fuels utilisation in heavy transport operations for extractive industries

Diesel-fuelled vehicles used in heavy transport operations of extractive industries release an estimated annual 400 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO₂), approximately a 1.1% of global CO₂ emissions. To address this issue, extractive industries aim to replace diesel with alternative fuels of lower or zero CO₂ emissions. Synthetic fuels such as synthetic methanol (e-MeOH) and synthetic natural gas (SNG) present significantly lesser CO₂ emissions than conventional fuels, due to their production process utilising CO₂ otherwise released in the atmosphere. Green hydrogen (H₂) is another alternative fuel associated with zero CO₂ emissions during combustion, and near zero emissions from production through renewable energy sources (RES). The goal of this study is to assess the environmental impact of alternative fuels utilised in the heavy transport operations of a marble quarry located in north Greece through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA was conducted according to ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006/A1:2018 and the International Life Cycle Data (ILCD) Handbook, using the commercial software package Sphera LCA for Experts. The results showed the e-MeOH, SNG and green H₂ utilisation result in 51%, 28% and 69% reduction in CO₂ eq. emissions, compared to diesel combustion. The study offers an overview of the benefits of alternative fuels for extractive industries, to support decision makers and promote the penetration of greener solutions in the highly emissive sector.