Abstract
The Australian coal mining industry, as with other industries is coming under greater constraints with respect to their environmental impacts. Emissions of acid gases such as NO x and SO x to the atmosphere have been regulated for many years because of their adverse health effects. Although NO x from blasting in open-cut coal mining may represent only a very small proportion of mining operations' total NO x emissions, the rapid release and high concentration associated with such activities may pose a health risk. This paper presents the results of a new approach to measure these gas emissions by scanning the resulting plume from an open-cut mine blast with a miniaturised ultraviolet spectrometer. The work presented here was undertaken in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia during 2006. Overall this technique was found to be simpler, safer and more successful than other approaches that in the past have proved to be ineffective in monitoring these short lived plumes. The average emission flux of NO x from the blasts studied was about 0.9 kt t −1 of explosive. Numerical modelling indicated that NO x concentrations resulting from the blast would be indistinguishable from background levels at distances greater than about 5 km from the source.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.