Preparation and Characterization of a Composite Dust Suppressant for Coal Mines

Abstract

In an effort to effectively control coal dust pollution and thereby reduce the harm of coal dust to human health, we prepared a highly efficient composite dust suppressant. First, dynamic contact angle and zeta potential measurements were used to select sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) over sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and trisodium methyl silicon as the complementary additive to soy protein isolate for the dust suppressant. We employed viscosity and wind erosion resistance tests to compare the performance of the composite dust suppressant with three common, commercially available suppressants. As the concentration of the composite dust suppressant was increased, the viscosity increased, reaching a maximum value of 22.7 mPa·s at a concentration of 5 wt%. The 5 wt% concentration of the composite dust suppressant provided the lowest wind erosion rate (20.62%) at a wind speed of 12 m/s. The composite dust suppressant also had good bonding performance and wind erosion resistance. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the properties of the dust suppressants. The dust suppressant, which had a crystal-like structure, could easily capture coal dust and form an effective package. In addition, the density of the dust suppressant film increased as its crystallinity increased. The increased density was beneficial in that it enabled the dust suppressant to form a hard, solidified shell on the surface of coal dust, which improved dust suppression. The composite dust suppressant also had good thermal stability.

Formulation Development and Performance Characterization of Ecological Dust Suppressant for Road Surfaces in Cities

“…After comparing the effects of road surface cleaning, water flushing, and chemical dust suppressants upon reducing the dust in the surrounding environment, Anderson [19] found that chemical dust suppressants demonstrate the most obvious effect on fugitive road dust suppression. Jin [20][21][22] developed a new type of biodegradable environmentally friendly dust suppressant and a highly efficient composite dust suppressant which can effectively inhibit the re-entrainment of coal dust and reduce environmental pollution. Gang [23] developed a chemical dust suppressant for tarmac roads.…”

Research Progress of Bio-organic Dust Suppressants

“…The experiment on physical and chemical properties allows for the observation of the structural characteristics of the main components of the dust suppressant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to observe the microstructure of the dust suppressant and the morphology of the curing layer after combination with dust particles [49]. The functional group changes and internal structure mechanism of dust suppressors were observed by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-RD.…”

Humic-Based Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Dust Suppression

“…According to data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for 2014 [ 8 ], the main sources of dust included wildfires, non-road and on-road dust, industrial processes, and fuel combustion, where industrial processes contributed the most to pollution, at 63% and 87% for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. Coal mining contributes highly to pollution; therefore, much of the recent work has been devoted to creating effective dust suppressors for coal particles [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. If we consider dust sources in cities far from industrial centers and do not consider wildfires, then the main source of dust is road dust, at 48% and 62% for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively [ 8 ].…”