Analysis of the ecological footprint of mining machines in the phase of material extraction and processing in LCA

Although there is research in this area, there are still no solutions
supporting the assessment of environmental impact in this sector.
Therefore, it is important to look for and conduct various types of
analyses that will be useful in this area. Therefore, the objective of
the research was to analyse the ecological footprint of mining
machines in the first phase of the LCA life cycle (obtaining and
extracting materials). The analysis was based on the example of a
hydraulic actuator, which is considered crucial to control machines
in the mining industry. The ecological footprint burdens analysed
included direct and indirect land take, sequestration of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions, and the use of nuclear energy. Life cycle assessment
was carried out using the OpenLCA software with the ecoinvent
v3.10 database. It has been shown that the largest amount of
emissions occurs during off-site treatment of nonsulphide waste,
cogeneration of heat and energy (hard coal), production of
ferrochrome, high carbon, 68% Cr, and heat production in an
industrial furnace using hard coal. It is proposed to carry out
improvement activities that will first contribute to reducing the main
environmental burdens. Then, it will be possible to significantly
reduce the negative environmental impact of the hydraulic actuator's
extraction and processing of materials. The results from the analysis
may be useful not only for products from the mining industry but also
in other areas of activity using this type of machine.