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.