Improvement of the underground mining activity efficiency anticipates the use of self-propelled equipment with internal combustion engines, including with diesel drive at all the stages of tunneling and mining operations. One of the main conditions that guarantee the possibility of using equipment with internal combustion engines is that the maximum permissible concentrations of gaseous substances formed as a result of the operation of internal combustion engines are not exceeded in the mine air. Organization of rational ventilation mode along with the use of the modern converters of gaseous impurities should be considered the most efficient solution to this problem. It is based on the supply of the required amount of fresh air to the places of consumption and on its distribution over the workings.

The norms of the specific amount of air for diluting gases are determined by the rated power of the machine engines, the environmental standard that complies with Tier 3 standard, and the availability of the efficient catalytic converters. They ensure reduction of the emissions of pollutants (CO, NO₂) to the values that guarantee that their maximum permissible concentrations are not exceeded, and the minimum oxygen content in the mine air is maintained.

To determine the specific air flow rate, the correlation dependences can be used based on statistical processing of data from in-situ measurements of concentrations of pollutants at the outlet of the catalytic converter during equipment operation.

When two or more self-propelled diesel engines are being developed simultaneously, the concentration of pollutants in the mine air and, consequently, the required air consumption will depend on the different schedules of the machines and their speed of movement.