A comparison of the energy consumption and carbon emissions for different modes of transportation in open-cut coal mines

Transportation accounts for 80% of open-cut coal mine carbon emissions. With regard to the energy consumption and carbon emissions of transportation within an open-cut mine, this paper systematically compared the work and energy consumption of a truck and belt conveyor on a theoretical basis, and constructed a model to calculate the energy consumption of open-cut mine transportation. Life cycle carbon emission factors and power consumption calculation model were established through a Process Analysis–Life Cycle Analysis (PA–LCA). The following results were obtained: (1) the energy consumption of truck transportation was four to twelve times higher than that of the belt conveyor; (2) the CO2 emissions from truck transportation were three to ten times higher than those of the belt conveyor; (3) with the increase in the slope angle for transportation, the ratio of truck to belt conveyor for both energy consumption and carbon emissions gradually decreased; (4) based on 2013 prices in China, the energy cost of transportation using a belt conveyor in open-cut coal mines could save 0.6–2.4 Yuan/(t km) compared to truck transportation.