Experimental Investigations and Field Applications of Chemical Suppressants for Dust Control in Coal Mines

Abstract

It is known that high dust concentrations are severely hazardous to health of miners and the safe operations of coal mines. The results of the suppressions of coal dust via chemical dust suppressant methods have been of critical significance, and these methods have been widely applied in coal mines. In this research study, a type of complex dust suppressant composed of surfactants, synergists, and cellulose was prepared. The prepared suppressant was characterized by a high wetting ability and adhesive capacity. The results of the performance tests of this study’s proposed complex dust suppressant showed that its dust sedimentation time was only four seconds, which was observed to be much shorter than that of water alone. Also, the proposed suppressant displayed a viscosity which was 25 times that of water. In this study’s field tests, the proposed complex dust suppressant was used for dust control in a mining roadway of the Zhangcun Coal Mine. The field test results revealed that the average suppression efficiencies of the total dust and respirable dust had reached 89.2% and 87.7%, respectively. Furthermore, a 44.5% increase in the control of the total dust had been observed, and a 65.6% increase in the control of the respirable dust had been achieved with the proposed method, when compared with the results of the previously used water curtain technology.

Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Explosive Dust at Large Open-Pit Coal Mines in Inner Mongolia, China and Dust Control Research

“…(2) Selection of surfactant materials and water-retaining materials Surfactants and water-retaining materials should meet specific criteria, including costeffectiveness, non-corrosiveness, easy solubility, and stable physicochemical properties during storage. Referring to the relevant papers [10,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], we identified nine types of wetting surfactants and three varieties of water-retaining inorganic salts that fulfill these requirements as raw materials, as outlined in Table 2. Additionally, the surfactants were prepared as solutions at mass fractions of 0.05 wt%, 0.1 wt%, 0.2 wt%, and 0.5 wt%, while the water-retaining inorganic salts were prepared as solutions at mass fractions of 0.5 wt% and 1 wt%, respectively.…”

Fugitive Dust Suppression in Unpaved Roads: State of the Art Research Review

“…However, no performance metrics were provided for this patented biodegradable aqueous-based dust suppressant. Liao et al [63] developed a dust suppressant that consisted of surfactants and celluloses (termed combinedly as SSC), wherein several inorganic salts, i.e., sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ), sodium sulfate (NaSO 4 ), and hydrated magnesium chloride (MgCl 2 •6H 2 O), were used as synergists to create a better dust suppression effect. They are hygroscopic by nature.…”

Environmental and occupational characterisation of coals and dust from coal mining

“…Several methods can be applied with regard to dust control in coal mines These include wetting systems acting on coal dust surface particles, or spraying systems, using surfactant aqueous solutions (foam-sol), applying chemical suppressants for dust control, and improving ventilation systems in coal mine Liao et al, 2018;Ma et al, 2018;Marmur, n.d.;NIOSH, 2010;Ren et al, 2012;Xi et al, 2014;Xiu et al, 2020;Xu et al, 2017). These approaches need to consider the different locations throughout the mines, including coal working fronts (CWF), transportation, galleries, continuous mining, surface mining, among others, particularly in underground mines, where coal dust has greater concentrations.…”