Carbon Footprint Analysis of Coal Gangue in Geotechnical Engineering Applications

Abstract

Coal gangue is a mine waste generated during the mineral processing phase of coal production. With the surge in demand for coal in thermal power, steel and cement generation industries, the rate of coal gangue generation has reached unprecedented heights. With the realisation of potential threat posed by coal gangue, researchers have made attempts to explore many new avenues of applications for its bulk utilisation. Unfortunately, the implications of coal gangue utilisation on the surrounding environment have not been taken into consideration. In the present study, an attempt has been made to perform carbon footprint analysis on coal gangue to assess the CO2 emissions in utilising it as an embankment material. A similar analysis is done to evaluate the emissions in its disposal process. The results obtained from both the analysis have been compared to assess the feasibility of utilising coal gangue in targeted geotechnical engineering applications. The studies corroborate the fact that the utilisation of coal gangue can lead to a significant decrease in the carbon footprints generation, thus leaving a positive impact on the environment.