Diesel powered underground mining equipment is presently the most productive and efficient type of equipment used in underground mining operations. Uncertainties regarding ventilating air levels, which will minimize the risk to health, focus on the role of diesel particulate, both as a toxic agent itself, and as a carrier for other exhaust constituents such as acid gases.
This paper describes the application of Catalytic Trap Oxidizer (CTO) Systems for particulate emission control to a test-bed engine and a mining vehicle in service.
Testing procedures and results are presented for both laboratory and in-service evaluations. Gaseous and particulate emissions are compared for baseline and CTO-equipped operation and correlation of laboratory and in-service test results is discussed.
The CTO systems demonstrated significant reductions in total particulate emissions, the level of PAH's and Ames mutagenic activity. Some oxidation of SO2 to SO4 together with sulphate storage and release was noted in laboratory testing, and an increase in SO=4 was measured in the mine atmosphere, though well below a threshold limit value of 1 mg/m3 sulphuric acid.