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Just Transition in Mining: Methane Mitigation, Energy Recovery, and Smart Ventilation Systems

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 900

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Interests: mine ventilation; methane emissions; energy efficiency; digital twins; just transition

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, Department Environmental Engineering, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Interests: sustainable construction; energy efficiency; building certification systems; environmental engineering; green building technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions on just transition in mining, focusing on methane mitigation, energy recovery, and smart ventilation systems.

The transition to sustainable mining practices is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency. This Special Issue aims to provide a multidisciplinary platform for the latest research, technologies, and methodologies supporting the green transformation of mining operations. We particularly welcome contributions that address emission control, with a focus on methane reduction from operational or abandoned coal mines, innovative ventilation strategies, and the integration of digital twin models in mine environmental management.

Both experimental and theoretical papers are encouraged, including numerical simulations, field case studies, and methodological reviews. Topics of interest include smart ventilation systems, predictive modeling, methane-to-energy conversion technologies, and automation for enhancing operational safety and sustainability. Contributions at the intersection of mining engineering, environmental science, energy systems, and digital innovation are especially welcome.

We look forward to receiving your high-quality submissions that support the goals of decarbonization, digitalization, and a just transition in the extractive industries.

Prof. Dr. Marek Borowski
Dr. Zwolińska-Glądys
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • green mining
  • methane emissions
  • smart ventilation
  • energy efficiency
  • digital twin
  • mine environmental control
  • emission mitigation
  • underground mining
  • modeling and simulation
  • ventilation systems

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 4791 KB  
Article
Methodological Approach for Determining the Aerodynamic Resistance Using 3D Scanning: Application in Mine Ventilation Modeling
by Andrzej Szmuk, Klaudia Zwolińska-Glądys, Zbigniew Kuczera and Marek Borowski
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(21), 11723; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152111723 - 3 Nov 2025
Viewed by 645
Abstract
Accurate assessment of aerodynamic resistance in mine ventilation networks is essential for ensuring operational safety and energy efficiency, yet traditional measurement approaches remain time-consuming and prone to uncertainty. This study presents a novel methodology for constructing digital ventilation models of underground mine workings [...] Read more.
Accurate assessment of aerodynamic resistance in mine ventilation networks is essential for ensuring operational safety and energy efficiency, yet traditional measurement approaches remain time-consuming and prone to uncertainty. This study presents a novel methodology for constructing digital ventilation models of underground mine workings using markerless LiDAR scanning combined with automated data processing. The proposed procedure includes segmentation of point clouds into sections, calculation of geometric parameters, and direct determination of resistance coefficients, which are subsequently exported to VentSim software. The approach was validated through a case study conducted in a Polish coal mine, where a 369 m ventilation siding was scanned and analyzed. The comparison between numerical simulations and in situ measurements demonstrated strong agreement, with differences not exceeding ±5% for airflow velocity, pressure drop, and total flow rate, while larger deviations were observed for cross-sectional area (+5.1%). The method is limited by potential inaccuracies in determining excavation geometry, which can lead to errors in calculating resistance coefficients, particularly at excavation intersections and at the beginning and end of scanning sections. Point cloud analysis, determination of resistance coefficients for individual sections (segments), spatial transformation, and point cloud reduction, along with integration with VentSim, are based on Python scripts. Calculation results can be easily exported to other computational programs. The proposed approach enables integration with various sensors and allows for assigning this value directly to a given section (segment of the excavation). The method can support the construction of digital twins for mines or underground tunnels. The implementation codes of the developed algorithms have also been made available for educational and scientific purposes under the Modified GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3). Full article
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