Abstract
To promote sustainable practices in earthworks, there is a growing impetus to leverage the utilization of mining and industrial wastes. Recent research has established coal gangue (CG) utilization (a mining waste generated during the mineral processing stage of coal mining) as a fill material in earthworks. Further, the earlier researchers have also identified the environmental benefits of reduced carbon emissions attainable through its utilization in earthworks. However, the attempts to comprehensively evaluate the environmental, economic, and societal benefits of CG utilization are sparse. In this context, an attempt has been made to comprehensively evaluate the social, economic, and environmental benefits attainable by CG application in earthworks. A carbon footprint analysis (CFA) was done to construct a CG-based embankment to evaluate the environmental benefits. The cost benefit analysis (CBA) was extended to the above scenario to estimate the economic benefits. The amount of land and fuel savings achievable through CG utilization was estimated to assess the social impacts. The CFA and CA estimated that the utilization of CG in embankment construction could reduce emissions and costs by save 3,210 kgCO(2e)/m(3) and 48%, respectively compared to conventional fill materials (local soil). Further, it was observed that 24 acres of land and 169k (L) of fuel consumption associated with CG disposal could be eliminated through its utilization (in embankment scenario). Considering both the resources' value and scarcity, the net savings in land and fuel are substantial. Thus, the findings of the study confirmed that use of CG in earthworks has the potential to provide economic, environmental, and societal benefits.