Title: Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability challenges: a case study in the coal mining industry

Authors: Nelson Kadel Jr.; Jocieli Francisco da Silva; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Agata Maitê Ritter; Débora Oliveira da Silva; Miguel Afonso Sellitto

Addresses: Production and Systems Graduate Program, UNISINOS, Av. Unisinos 950, 93022970, São Leopoldo, Brazil ' Polytechnical School of Universidade de São Paulo, Poli-USP, Av. Professor Luciano Gualberto, 380, 05508900, São Paulo, Brazil ' School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, Gedimino g. 50, Kaunas 44029, Lithuania ' Production and Systems Graduate Program, UNISINOS, Av. Unisinos 950, 93022970, São Leopoldo, Brazil ' Production and Systems Graduate Program, UNISINOS, Av. Unisinos 950, 93022970, São Leopoldo, Brazil ' Production and Systems Graduate Program, UNISINOS, Av. Unisinos 950, 93022970, São Leopoldo, Brazil

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify how Industry 4.0 digital technologies can help overcome sustainability challenges in the coal mining industry. The research method is the case study. The study compares two coal primary processing plants belonging to the same company in Latin America, one equipped with facilities dating back to 1983, the other equipped with updated facilities, commissioned in 2018-2019. The comparison focuses only in current data (2020) from both units, produced under the same managerial and legal conditions. The only difference is the technology. Findings show that the implementation of Industry 4.0 digital technologies reduced variability in quality parameters, water, and energy consumption, waste generation, and harmful emissions. Nonetheless, social implications are contradictory. Digital technologies reduced risks for operators, but the number of accidents did not reduce in the same proportion. The total amount of jobs reduced significantly.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; digital technologies; coal mining; sustainability; coal processing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLM.2022.125818

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2022 Vol.14 No.2/3, pp.186 - 205

Received: 30 Jan 2022
Received in revised form: 27 Apr 2022
Accepted: 01 Jun 2022
Published online: 29 Sep 2022 *

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