Research and application of fuel cells to replace diesel used in open pit mining equipments to reduce environmental pollution

Abstract

Gasoline and diesel sources are at risk of decreasing due to limited reserves and increasing demand. At the same time, emissions from burning gasoline and diesel in internal combustion engines are the main causes of environmental pollution such as: Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxide (NOx), Carbon dioxide CO₂, ... causing environmental pollution, contributing to the greenhouse effect. The increase in the number of vehicles using internal combustion engines has increased the amount of toxic emissions, which is a major threat to human life. Electric vehicles have been developing strongly, they are environmentally friendly because they do not emit any gases that pollute the environment and are gradually replacing vehicles using internal combustion engines. However, for large-capacity equipment used in open-pit mining such as trucks, excavators, and bulldozers, the battery capacity is difficult to meet their operating needs. Although these devices are much smaller in number than civil vehicles, they use high-power internal combustion engines, so they emit a large amount of gas. A new clean energy source that does not emit into the environment and replaces gasoline and diesel is being researched and developed, which is hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen reacts chemically with oxygen to produce electricity and water, so it is considered a clean energy source because the emission level is zero. In order for hydrogen fuel cells to replace diesel on open-pit mining equipment, it is necessary to study and evaluate economic and technical factors. This article will study, calculate and evaluate the possibility of applying hydrogen fuel cells on open-pit mining and transportation equipment.