Preparation and Characterization of a Binary-Graft-Based, Water-Absorbing Dust Suppressant for Coal Transportation

During coal transportation, a large amount of coal dust is generated; this not only leads to a massive loss of coal but also causes severe environmental pollution. In this research, we used a chemical modification approach to prepare a highly water-absorbing dust suppressant. Corn starch, as the main ingredient, was copolymerized with acrylic acid and acrylamide, and acrylic acid and acrylamide were used to form a starch graft copolymer. Subsequently, in this research, we designed a suite of single-factor experiments using the viscosity as the metric to determine the optimal reaction conditions, which were as follows: mass ratio of acrylic acid to acrylamide = 3:2, neutrality = 50%, reaction time = 3 h, and reaction temperature = 50 degrees C. Tests were carried out to assess the viscosity, water retention, and anti-evaporation performance of the dust suppressant. The results indicate that when the dust-suppressant concentration was 6%, the performance was optimized. Also, the anti-evaporation behavior of the suppressant improved with the dust-suppressant concentration. The use of this dust suppressant during coal transportation could greatly reduce dust dispersion and lead to improved environmental protection. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.