Performance study and application of antifreeze composite road dust suppressant

Abstract Truck transportation is a major source of dust in open-pit coal mines. According to the dust characteristics of open-pit mine roads under extremely low winter temperatures, an anti-freezing composite pavement dust inhibitor was developed and tested in the field. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of road dust were first performed, and four functional materials were mixed with glycerol (GLY), polyacrylamide (PAM), sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS), and compound propylene glycol (PG) and potassium acetate (PA). Water loss rate was used as an evaluation index to determine the optimal ratio of the antifreeze composite dust suppressant: 3wt% GLY, 0.07wt% PAM, 0.30wt% SDBS, and 15wt% PG + 10wt% PA. The wettability, evaporation resistance, and wind erosion resistance of the dust suppressant were investigated, the viscosity coefficient and freezing point were measured, and the toxicity and corrosion were evaluated. The results showed that the dust had strong hydrophobicity due to its chemical composition and properties, and the composite dust inhibitor had good wetting, agglomeration, moisturizing, and anti-freezing properties. The freezing point reached − 51.4℃, forming a solid pavement crust, which resisted the Level 7 wind erosion. Moreover, the solution was neutral (pH), non-toxic, and non-corrosive. Under the same conditions, the dust suppression efficiency of the dust suppressant on total dust and exhaled dust was significantly higher than that of water sprinkling. The dust concentration of the dust suppressant section of the test area was reduced by more than half relative to the dust concentration of the water sprinkling section. The dust concentration was controlled below 4 mg/m3, and the effective dust suppression time was as long as 6 days, which has significant economic and environmental benefits.