A dataset on water synergy benefits of coal de-capacity in China

The closure/withdrawal of mines, as one of the important measures to implement the State Council’s “Opinions on supporting the coal industries to resolve excess production capacity and achieve destructive development”, and is of great significance to the optimization of the regional energy structure, reduction of carbon emissions and environmental protection. In order to assess the synergistic benefits of water resources generated in the process of coal de-capacity and reveal the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of closure/withdrawal mines, the number and capacity of closure/withdrawal mines during 2016-2022 were investigated with coal de-capacity as the policy background. Based on the analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the closure/withdrawal mines, the water resources synergy benefits brought about by coal de-capacity was quantified by combining the water resources-related mine water, water consumption and wastewater discharges coefficients in the coal mining and washing stages. The results show that a total of 4027 mines were closure/withdrawal from coal-related provinces in China during 2016-2022, with a de-capacity of 875 million t. The number of mines closure/withdrawal is concentrated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the areas with high density of coal de-capacity are concentrated in the "Ji" bays of the Yellow River. Meanwhile, the total of wasted water resources reduced by coal de-capacity is about 3 billion t, higher than the volume of China’s fourth largest freshwater Honghu lake, generating socio-economic benefits of about 46.165 billion yuan. The areas with positive benefits of water synergy are mainly located in the water shortage areas such as Southwest China, North China and the Yellow River basin. This research quantifies the synergistic benefits of water resources for coal de-capacity and discusses the future direction of mine water resources utilization, with a view to providing scientific basis and data support for sustainable development and “double carbon” target for coal de-capacity.

煤矿关闭退出作为落实国务院《关于支持煤炭行业化解过剩产能实现破坏性发展的意见》的重要举措之一，对于优化区域能源结构、降低碳排放及环境保护具有重要意义。为评估煤炭去产能（coal de-capacity）过程中产生的水资源协同效益，揭示煤矿关闭退出的时空演化特征，本研究以煤炭去产能为政策背景，对2016-2022年期间的关闭退出煤矿数量与产能进行了调研。在分析关闭退出煤矿时空分布特征的基础上，本研究结合煤炭开采与洗选环节中与水资源相关的矿井水（mine water）、用水量及废水排放系数，对煤炭去产能带来的水资源协同效益进行了量化核算。研究结果显示，2016-2022年期间，全国涉煤省份累计关闭退出煤矿4027处，去产能规模达8.75亿吨。关闭退出煤矿的数量集中分布于长江上游区域，而煤炭去产能高密度区域则集中于黄河“几”字湾一带。与此同时，煤炭去产能累计减少的水资源浪费量约30亿吨，超过我国第四大淡水湖洪湖的库容，创造社会经济效益约461.65亿元。水资源协同效益为正的区域主要分布于西南、华北及黄河流域等缺水地区。本研究量化了煤炭去产能的水资源协同效益，探讨了矿井水资源化利用的未来方向，旨在为煤炭去产能的可持续发展及双碳（Double Carbon）目标实现提供科学依据与数据支撑。