Experimental investigation of coal dust wetting ability of anionic surfactants with different structures

•The wetting time doesn’t relate to the surface tension that is lower than 45 mN/m.•Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions influence the adsorption density.•Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values affect the dynamic immersion process.•The surfactant structures cause different adsorption densities and HLB values.•Both the adsorption density and HLB value determine the wetting ability.