Life cycle assesment on sustainable coal mining

In this thesis, the environmental impacts of mining activities carried out in a total of 10 coal fields operated by the Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ) were evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Of these sites, nine are operated by open-pit mining and one by underground mining. The sites are geographically distributed across the Aegean (3 sites), Marmara (3 sites), Central Anatolia (3 sites), and Eastern Anatolia (1 site) regions. The entire process, from coal extraction to its delivery to thermal power plants, was modeled using the SimaPro software in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards. Environmental burdens were comprehensively identified through the ReCiPe impact assessment method. Within the scope of LCA, 17 environmental impact categories were evaluated, including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, acidification potential, human health effects, water use, and ecotoxicity. The analysis results revealed that coal mining operations exert particularly high environmental pressure in terms of climate change and fossil resource depletion. Accordingly, three improvement scenarios were developed to mitigate environmental impacts: the utilization of inactive mining sites for solar power plant (SPP) installations, the replacement of diesel-powered heavy machinery with electric drive systems, and the substitution of diesel with biodiesel in mining equipment. Each scenario was individually modeled and compared to the current situation in order to assess their potential for environmental improvement. The findings demonstrate that all three scenarios have the potential to enhance environmental performance. In this context, the study provides valuable input for the restructuring of coal mining processes in Turkey from a sustainability perspective.