The Influence of Opencast Lignite Mining Dehydration on Plant Production—A Methodological Study

Pepliński, Benedykt; Czubak, Wawrzyniec

doi:10.3390/en14071917

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Subsequent studies carried out in this area have already taken into account changes in yield levels during the period of impact of open pits. The first study focused on a multi-pit lignite basin in central Poland, where open pit coal mining has been carried out for more than 60 years and is likely to end by 2026 [3], while another study focused on the planned Złoczew lignite open pit [4].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include tillage operations, which can weaken or intensify adverse effects resulting from groundwater drainage, the sensitivity of cultivated plants/varieties to water scarcity, and the intensity of production. The complexity of the processes taking place as a result of open pit coal mining is discussed in more detail in the study by Peplinski and Czubak [3].…”

Section: External Costs In Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, in February 2021, the published Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (EPP2040) [2] abandoned the development of new solid-fuel-based power capacity and the exploitation of new lignite deposits, leaving the decision to launch new deposits to interested companies. By June 2021, potential investors had finally abandoned investment in the new deposits of Ościsłowo and Złoczew despite the highly advanced preparatory work [3,4]. Second, after decades of indecision, a final decision was made to build three nuclear power plants in Poland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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External Costs to Agriculture Associated with Further Open Pit Lignite Mining from the Bełchatów Deposit

Pepliński

2023

Energies

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The energy crisis in Europe and Poland caused by the conflict in Ukraine has renewed the debate in some countries about the wisdom of abandoning the use of local fossil fuels. The rise in gas and oil prices with little change in the cost of extracting lignite from open pit mines has led to a renewed consideration of lignite as the cheapest source of energy. This is not entirely true, as the level of costs at power plants ignores many external costs that are not included in the costs of energy producers, but are borne by the general public or other parties. One such cost is the external costs incurred by agriculture as a result of open pit lignite mining and the associated depression funnels. The Bełchatów lignite open pit is the deepest open pit in Europe and is expected to be in operation by 2038. The aim of the study was to assess the external costs that farmers will incur as a result of further open pit mining of brown call from the Bełchatów deposit, i.e., between 2023 and 2038 as well as in the 16-year extended period of restoration of water relations around the open pit. The decrease in crop yields and animal numbers was estimated in a comparative analysis, which compared changes in the yields of selected plants and animals in the area affected by the open pit to those in neighboring areas that were not affected. The analysis showed that the external costs to be borne by agriculture as a result of the further exploitation of the Bełchatów deposit will amount to an average of EUR 2.90 billion, and, depending on the calculation variant, from EUR 2.51 billion to EUR 3.14 billion. Including this amount in the cost of electricity production would result in an increase of EUR 9.11·MWh−1, which is 18.8% of the average wholesale price of electricity in Poland in 2017–2021. On the one hand, the increased consumption of lignite in electricity production, which is currently observed and may last for several years, may shorten the life of the open pit by up to 2 years. Shortening the mining period by one year, assuming that all the coal in the deposit is mined, will reduce the external costs for agriculture by about EUR 185 million, i.e., EUR 0.58·MWh−1. On the other hand, the increase in European Emissions Trading System (ETS) prices, the decrease in gas prices and the increase in energy production from renewable energy source (RES) will make lignite power generation profitable only during the periods with the highest prices, so that by 2038 lignite will not be mined in its entirety. Every 10 Gg of coal that will not be mined by 2038 will result in an increase in external costs in agriculture per MWh of EUR 0.23·MWh−1.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: External Costs In Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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External Costs to Agriculture Associated with Further Open Pit Lignite Mining from the Bełchatów Deposit

Pepliński

2023

Energies

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“…Opencast coal mining can trigger many adverse effects on the ecological environment, which can seriously damage the surface soil and vegetation [ 7 ]. Opencast coal mining can even disrupt the structure of underground aquifers and affect the normal recharge circulation path of groundwater [ 9 ], which can further cause large losses in vegetation and agricultural production [ 10 ]. Therefore, it is of great significance to maintain China’s fragile ecosystem via the artificial restoration of damaged land in mining areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Reconstructed Soil Physicochemical Properties in an Opencast Mine Dump in the Loess Plateau Area of China

Zhou

Ming

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Soil construction and revegetation are essential for ecological restoration in mining areas. The influence of vegetation on the horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of soil properties should be fully understood. However, most studies on reconstructed soils in mining areas only concentrate on the surface soil, without exploring the vertical variations in soil properties. Overall, this study aims to explore the potential mechanisms by which surface vegetation exerts some influence on the spatial distribution of soil physicochemical properties, and to provide some insight into revegetation and soil reclamation in mining areas. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) were employed to evaluate the differences in the soil physicochemical properties in horizontal and vertical directions under different land-use types in the south dump of Antaibao opencast mine in Pingshuo, Shanxi Province, China. The main results of this study are as follows: (1) In the horizontal direction, except for the strong variation (variation coefficient ≥ 100%) in soil organic matter (SOM) content at some depths, the degree of variation in other soil physicochemical properties at various depths was moderate or weak (variation coefficient < 100%). The soil physicochemical properties gradually remained constant after years of reclamation. In the vertical direction, the soil bulk density (SBD), soil porosity, SOM content, soil C/N ratio, soil total nitrogen (STN) content, soil available phosphorus (SAP) content, and soil available potassium (SAK) content showed significant variations (p < 0.05) between soil depths. In contrast, no significant difference was found for other physicochemical properties. (2) The SBD, STN, SAK, soil porosity, and soil clay content were significantly different (p < 0.05) under different vegetation cover types, but the influence of vegetation on other soil physicochemical properties seemed to be limited. The results reveal that trees have a stronger ability to reduce soil grain sizes and enhance SAP contents than shrubs or herbs; however, the beneficial effects of herbs on the physicochemical properties of shallow soil are more obvious than those of trees and shrubs. (3) This study indicates that more shrubs and trees should be planted in the areas with low vegetation coverage, and more measures should be taken to improve soil physicochemical properties in order to prevent the occurrence of large-scale degradation. The reconstruction of soil structure should be preferentially considered in the process of soil reconstruction and revegetation in areas under similar conditions. Herbs should first be planted in the early reclamation stage. At the same time, shrubs or trees can be adopted in the middle and late stages of vegetation reconstruction in order to achieve comprehensive revegetation.

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“…Long-term drainage of groundwater in open-pit coal mining will lead to changes in groundwater flow near the stope [18,23] and formed groundwater drawdown funnels in the mining pits [13,15,29,37]. Through long-term observation of groundwater, the influence of open-pit coal mining on groundwater can be studied [11], which is helpful for groundwater management and protection [11,12,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Groundwater in Open-Pit Coal Mining: A Case Study from Baorixile Coal Mine, Hailaer Basin, China

Chen

et al. 2022

Geofluids

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Groundwater distribution influenced by mining activities is hard to be tracked due to the lack of accurate and real-time monitoring data. To address the groundwater dynamic change data under the mining conditions of open-pit coal mines, a three-dimensional automatic observation network of groundwater was constructed, and this observation network takes open-pit as the center, showing a radioactive distribution, based on hydrogeological conditions, and observes different aquifers. The data was analyzed by integrating hydrology, mining activity, and meteorological data. Analytic hierarchy process was adopted to reveal the underground disturbance influencing factors, and suggestions for groundwater protection were given. The results show that the dynamic variations of the groundwater with time can be divided into 3 types (precipitation affected, unaffected type, and mining affected types). The drainage operation during the open-pit mining triggered the drop of groundwater level, resulting in a cone of depression. The maximum drawdown of the central groundwater level was 60 m. And the disturbance mainly occurred in the mining area where the maximum groundwater disturbance radius was 8 km. Artificial drainage was the main disturbance factor of groundwater, and the range of groundwater level drop within the disturbance radius was closely related to the distance from the open-pit coal mine and the drainage volume. The closer the distance to the mines and the higher the drainage volume led to the deeper the groundwater level drop. This study shows the importance of the three-dimensional observation network of groundwater and provides a good reference for groundwater resources protection and ecological restoration in open-pit coal mines.

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The Influence of Opencast Lignite Mining Dehydration on Plant Production—A Methodological Study

Cited by 9 publications

References 85 publications

External Costs to Agriculture Associated with Further Open Pit Lignite Mining from the Bełchatów Deposit

External Costs to Agriculture Associated with Further Open Pit Lignite Mining from the Bełchatów Deposit

Changes in Reconstructed Soil Physicochemical Properties in an Opencast Mine Dump in the Loess Plateau Area of China

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Groundwater in Open-Pit Coal Mining: A Case Study from Baorixile Coal Mine, Hailaer Basin, China

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