Effects of dust controls on respirable coal mine dust composition and particle sizes:case studies on auxiliary scrubbers and canopy air curtain

Control of dust in underground coal mines is critical for mitigating both safety and health hazards.For decades,the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH)has led research to evaluate the effectiveness of various dust control technologies in coal mines.Recent studies have included the evaluation of auxiliary scrubbers to reduce respirable dust downstream of active mining and the use of canopy air curtains(CACs)to reduce respirable dust in key operator positions.While detailed dust characterization was not a focus of such studies,this is a growing area of interest.Using preserved filter samples from three previous NIOSH studies,the current work aims to explore the effect of two different scrubbers(one wet and one dry)and a roof bolter CAC on respirable dust composition and particle size distribution.For this,the preserved filter samples were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis and/or scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray.Results indicate that dust composition was not appreciably affected by either scrubber or the CAC.However,the wet scrubber and CAC appeared to decrease the overall particle size distribution.Such an effect of the dry scrubber was not consistently observed,but this is probably related to the particular sampling location downstream of the scrubber which allowed for significant mixing of the scrubber exhaust and other return air.Aside from the insights gained with respect to the three specific dust control case studies revisited here,this work demonstrates the value of preserved dust samples for follow-up investigation more broadly.

Effects of proper drilling control to reduce respirable dust during roof bolting operations

Dust generated from bolt hole drilling in roof bolting operation could have high quartz content. As a dust control measure, vacuum drilling is employed on most of the roof bolters in US underground mines. However, fine rock partic- ulates from drilling could escape from the dust collection system and become airborne under some circumstances causing the roof bolter operators expose to quartz-rich respirable dust. A previous research shows that drilling can be controlled through properly selected penetration and rotational rates to reduce the specific energy of drilling. Less specific energy means less energy is wasted on generating noise, heat and over-breakage of rock. It implies that proper control of drilling has a great potential to generate significantly less fine rock dust during drilling. The drilling experiments have been conducted to study the effect of controlling drilling on reducing respirable dust. The preliminary results show that the size distributions of respirable dust were different when controlling drilling in different bite depths. This paper presents the findings from laboratory experimental studies.

Application of foam technology for dust control in underground coal mine

In order to effectively control the dust in the underground coal mine,this study proposes and develops a new technology for dust control by foam,and briefly demonstrates the advantage of the foam technology for dust control,such as the good isolation performance,large contact area,high wetting ability,strong adhesion and so on.Besides,the details of the technology are introduced,including the foam agent,foam generator,and foam production process.Then the paper studies the relationship between the foaming agent concentration and liquid surface tension,and explains the principle of the foam generator.The technology is applied in heading face.The application results show that the foam has a remarkable effect on dust control in underground coal mines.

A comparative study of dust control practices in Chinese and Australian longwall coal mines

Mine dust is one of the main hazards in underground longwall mines worldwide.In order to solve the mine dust problem,a significant number of studies have been carried out regarding longwall mine dust control,both in China and Australia.This paper presents a comparative study of dust control practices in Chinese and Australian longwall mines,with particular references to statutory limits,dust monitoring methods and dust management practices,followed by a brief discussion on the research status of longwall mine dust control in both countries.The study shows that water infusion,face ventilation controls,water sprays,and deep and wet cutting in longwall shearer operations are commonly practiced in almost all underground longwall mines and that both Chinese and Australian longwall mine dust control practices have their own advantages and disadvantages.It is concluded that there is a need for further development and innovative design of more effective dust mitigation products or systems despite the development of various dust control technologies.Based on the examinations and discussions,the authors have made some recommendations for further research and development in dust control in longwall mines.It is hoped that this comparative study will provide beneficial guidance for scholars and engineers who are engaging in longwall mine dust control research and practice.

A non-contact spacecraft architecture with extended stochastic state observer based control for gravity mission

A novel non-contact spacecraft architecture with the extended stochastic state observer for disturbance rejection control of the gravity satellite is proposed.First,the precise linear driving non-contact voice-coil actuators are used to separate the whole spacecraft into the non-contact payload module and the service module,and to build an ideal loop with precise dynamics for disturbance rejection control of the payload module.Second,an extended stochastic state observer is enveloped to construct the overall nonlinear external terms and the internal coupled terms of the payload module,enabling the controller design of the payload module turned into the linear form with simple bandwidth-parameterization tuning in the frequency domain.As a result,the disturbance rejection control of the payload module can be explicitly achieved in a timely manner without complicated tuning in actual implementation.Finally,an extensive numerical simulation is conducted to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Development of a roof bolter drilling control process to reduce the generation of respirable dust

The drilling operation in the roof bolting process,especially in hard rock,generates excessive respirable coal and quartz dusts,which could expose the roof bolting operator to continued health risks.Previous research has shown that the amount of respirable dust produced is dependent on the main drilling parameters,specifically the drilling rotational and penetration rate.In this paper,a roof bolter drilling control process was proposed to reduce the generation of respirable dust.Based on the analysis of laboratory drilling test results,a rational drilling control process(adjusting rotational and penetration rates)to achieve the optimal drilling parameter for different rock types was proposed.In this process,the ratio between specific energy and rock uniaxial compressive strength was used as the index to determine the optimal operation point.The recommended drilling operation range for the rock type used in the experiment was provided,and the reduction in respirable dust generation was demonstrated.By following this control process,the drilling efficiency can be monitored in real time,so the system can stay in a relatively high-energy efficiency with less respirable dust production from the drilling source.This algorithm is targeted to be incorporated into the current roof bolter drilling control system for drilling automation so that a safe and productive drilling operation can be conducted in a healthy working environment.

A new design of foam spray nozzle used for precise dust control in underground coal mines

In order to improve the utilization rate of foam,an arc jet nozzle was designed for precise dust control.Through theoretical analysis,the different demands of foam were compared amongst arc jets,flat jets and full cone jets when the dust source was covered identically by foam.It is proved that foam consumption was least when an arc jet was used.Foam production capability of an arc jet nozzle under different conditions was investigated through experiments.The results show that with the gas liquid ratio(GLR)increasing,the spray state of an arc jet nozzle presents successively water jet,foam jet and mist.Under a reasonable working condition range of foam production and a fixed GLR,foam production quantity increases at first,and then decreases with the increase of liquid supply quantity.When the inner diameter of the nozzle is 14 mm,the best GLR is 30 and the optimum liquid supply quantity is0.375 m^3/h.The results of field experiments show that the total dust and respirable dust suppression efficiency of arc jet nozzles is 85.8%and 82.6%respectively,which are 1.39 and 1.37 times higher than the full cone nozzles and 1.20 and 1.19 times higher than the fiat nozzles.

Wetting agent investigation for controlling dust of lead-zinc ores

The purpose of this project is to control the pollution of dust,which occurred in a typical lead-zinc mine.Two kinds of surfactants and water glass were chosen as the wetting agents to study the behaviours of suppressing the dust.The performances of the wetting agents of various sizes and water content of dust and their compositions among different weting agents were investigated. Firstly,the chemical compounds,dispersity,water content,bulk density and other relevant physico-chemical properties of the choiced dust of lead-zinc ore were mensurated.A great number of down-ward penetrating tests were conducted to different partical sizes of dust and to analyze the dust wetting behaviour respectively.The optimal compositions of wetting agents were obtained in accordance with different water contents and partical sizes of the dust after analyzing and statisting the achieved experimental data. The data show that the efficiency of chemical dust suppression of weting agents is much better than that of water.The results of the research work prove that the partical size and the water content of the dust are very important factors to the dust suppression.The results are also proved validly by the dropping experiment,which takes the penetrating diameter and penetrating time as the major factors.The superfine dust is much more difficult to be wetted.Since increasing the water content of dust is the best approach to control it,the choice of wetting agents for improving dispensation is significant.

Investigations of the effects of two typical jet crushing methods on the atomization and dust reduction performance of nozzles

Single-fuid nozzles and dual-fuid nozzles are the two typical jet crushing methods used in spray dust reduction. To distinguish the atomization mechanism of single-fuid and dual-fuid nozzles and improve dust control efciency at the coal mining faces, the atomization characteristics and dust reduction performance of the two nozzles were quantitatively compared. Results of experiments show that, as water supply pressure increased, the atomization angle of the swirl pressure nozzle reaches a maximum of 62° at 6 MPa and then decreases, but its droplet size shows an opposite trend with a minimum of 41.7 μm. The water supply pressure helps to improve the droplet size and the atomization angle of the internal mixing air–liquid nozzle, while the air supply pressure has a suppressive efect for them. When the water supply pressure is 0.2 MPa and the air supply pressure reaches 0.4 MPa, the nozzle obtains the smallest droplet size which is 10% smaller than the swirl pressure nozzle. Combined with the dust reduction experimental results, when the water consumption at the working surface is not limited, using the swirl pressure nozzle will achieve a better dust reduction efect. However, the internal mixing air–liquid nozzle can achieve better and more economical dust reduction performance in working environments where water consumption is limited.

Study on Dust-Control WaterInjection in Fully-Mchanized Top-Coal Caving Longwall Faces

Based on the analysis of the top-coal movement, the appropriate position of holes through which dustcoutrol water is injected is confirmed. And a practical test has been carried out, which has achieved good reuslts both in dust control and in the flow rate of water injected into coal.

Remote Monitoring of Surfaces Wetted for Dust Control on the Dry Owens Lakebed, California

Extensive dust control on the dry Owens Lake mainly uses constructed basins that are flooded with shallow depths of fresh water. This dust control is mandated by law as a minimum percent of the area of each individual wetting basin. Wetted surfaces are evaluated for area and degree of wetness using the shortwave infrared (SWIR) band of Landsat TM, or similar earth observation satellite sensor. The SWIR region appropriate for these measurements lies within the electromagnetic spectrum between about 1.5 and 1.8 μm wavelengths. A threshold value for Landsat TM5 band 5 reflectance of 0.19 was found to conform with surfaces having a threshold for adequate wetting at a nascent point where rapid drying would occur following loss of capillary connection with groundwater. This threshold is robust and requires no atmospheric correction for the effects of aerosol scatter and attenuation as long as the features on the image appear clear. Monthly monitoring of surface wetting has proven accurate, verifiable and repeatable using these methods. This threshold can be calibrated for any Earth observation satellite that records the appropriate SWIR region. The monitoring program is expected to provide major input for the final phase of the dust control program that will have a focus to conserve water and resources.

Remote Monitoring of Vegetation Managed for Dust Control on the Dry Owens Lakebed, California

A monitoring program was developed to assess the cover of saltgrass managed for dust control on the saline dry Owens Lake. Although the original intent was to manage the vegetation as total cover that included green and senesced leaf and stem material, aged leaves that make up a large proportion of total cover were not differentiable spectrally from the background salt and lakebed. Hence, greenness-based indices were explored for detection of plant recruitment. Since all plant cover begins as green and growing, greenness indices provide a measure of all future cover whether living or senesced. The criteria for judging compliance were changed so that spatially variable vegetation cover measured as a milestone will need to be met in the future. A derivative of NDVI, NDVIx, calculated using scene statistics, proved highly accurate, to about 0.001 of this index and with an average signal to noise ratio of 64. This high level of accuracy allowed detection of small changes in vegetation growth and vigor. Performance according to the benchmark-as-par standard was determined through combined use of cumulative distribution functions and derivative maps.

PARTICLE ELECTROSTATIC COAGULATION AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN DUST CONTROL

Fine particulates instead of others create particulate pollution and they are easier to escape from almost all conventional collectors of low- or medium-efficiency. It is of practical significance to take full advantages of particle coagulation by electrostatic forces to upgrade the collertors' performance. This paper investigates the main mechanisms of coagulation, all possible electrostatic forces existing in the collectors and their effects on the particle coagulation. To make particle kinetic coagulation electrostatically enhanced be a step of the conventional collectors. operations,certain conditions should be created through some medifications of the collectors. Based on that ,the authors suggest that a precharger electro-cyclone technique be applied to improve the performance of common cyclones still widely used in many places. And a preliminary semi-industrial test has been carried out at Jiawang Power Station, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, and the results show that the modified cyclone increases its efficiency from about 80% to 92~94%.

A Comparative Assessment of On-Site Application Effects of Mine Dust Prevention and Control Technology

Prolonged exposure to coal dust leads to various lung disorders, including incurable coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), and endangers miners’ health in underground mines. This article summarizes the latest research progress in dust control technology, including chemical dust suppressants, foam dust removal, ultrasonic atomization, magnetized water dust suppression, double curtains of wind and fog, biological nano-film, and emerging microbial dust suppressants in the field of dust. The actual application compares and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of different dust removal technologies. The current three directions of mine dust prevention and control are pointed out: the prevention and control of respirable dust, hydrophobic dust, and secondary dust, and the prospects for future development trends. Given the treatment of respirable dust, it is necessary to strengthen the research on the dust generation mechanism under different working conditions and to explore the migration and settlement laws of respirable dust by constructing a numerical model of dust dynamics;for the treatment of hydrophobic dust, further research on the microphysical and chemical properties of coal dust is needed. The relationship between wettability and continuously optimizing the wetting agent;for the prevention and control of secondary dust in coal mines, emerging microbial dust suppression technologies need to be developed to explore the micro-action between microorganisms and coal dust molecules to achieve green prevention and control of dust.

我国金属矿山采—装—运过程中粉尘职业危害防控技术进展与展望

在高温、噪声、粉尘、有毒有害气体等金属矿山主要的职业病危害因素中,由粉尘引起的尘肺病在职业病病例中占比最大,为不断推进粉尘职业健康防护研究,保障金属矿山人员、生产与环境安全,概述了金属矿山尘源与扩散理论以及粉尘职业健康职业防护研究现状,基于安全工程系统性原理,分别从源头治理、过程控制以及个体防护3个维度分析了我国金属矿山采—装—运过程中粉尘职业危害防控技术进展。在此基础上,剖析了目前存在的不足,并展望了未来发展方向。认为现阶段存在的不足在于金属矿山粉尘控制理论体系尚未成熟,金属矿山粉尘智能化监测预警技术研究有待加强,不同粉尘治理技术交叉性、协同性研究与应用较薄弱,以及以现场人员舒适性为导向的个体呼吸防护设备研发需要进一步加强,未来可从完善金属矿山粉尘控制理论体系,开发适用于金属矿山产尘特性的智能化防尘监测预警技术,注重粉尘治理技术的交叉性、协同性研究与应用,以及研发更符合人体工程学的个体防护设备等方面进一步开展工作。

综掘工作面混合式风流调控下的粉尘沉降研究

煤矿掘进过程中粉尘聚集严重,目前针对综掘工作面混合式风流调控下粉尘沉降规律及优化的研究还不够深入。基于混合式风流调控系统,依托陕煤集团神木柠条塔矿业有限公司综掘工作面,分析了压风口距工作面距离、压风口右偏角度、压风口口径、抽风口距工作面距离和压抽比等混合式风流调控参数对粉尘沉降规律的影响:随着压风口距工作面距离增加,司机处和回风侧行人呼吸带截面大颗粒粉尘占比先增后减再增,小颗粒粉尘占比增加;随着压风口右偏角度增加,司机处和回风侧行人呼吸带截面大颗粒粉尘占比变化明显;随着压风口口径增加,司机处截面小颗粒粉尘占比先增后减再增,回风侧行人呼吸带截面大颗粒粉尘占比先增后减;随着抽风口距工作面距离增加,司机处截面大颗粒粉尘占比先增后减,小颗粒粉尘占比先增后减再增,回风侧行人呼吸带截面粉尘粒径分布变化不大;随着压抽比增大,司机处和回风侧行人呼吸带截面小颗粒粉尘占比减小。以上述风流调控各参数为自变量,回风侧行人呼吸带全尘平均浓度和司机处呼尘平均浓度最低为优化目标,建立了粉尘沉降优化回归模型,利用粒子群优化算法求解模型,得到最优风流调控方案:压风口距工作面距离为8.9 m,压风口右偏角度为14.8°,压风口口径为0.9 m,抽风口距工作面距离为4.3 m,压抽比为1.1。搭建了风流调控下粉尘沉降实验平台,实验结果表明:测试值与粉尘沉降优化回归模型的模拟值误差在13%以内,验证了模型的准确性;优化后粒径为71~100μm的粉尘受风流调控参数影响明显,沉降在掘进机前方;优化后回风侧行人呼吸带全尘平均浓度和司机处呼尘平均浓度分别降低了47.4%和42.4%,降尘效果明显。

我国非煤矿山职业健康防控技术研究现状、挑战及展望

矿业是现代工业的粮食,在国民经济发展中发挥着不可替代的作用,但采矿过程伴随众多职业危害因素,给工人职业健康与安全造成极大影响。采用文献查阅、现场调研、访谈交流等方法,并基于团队已有研究积累,对新中国成立以来我国非煤矿山职业健康防控技术研究现状进行了综述,并分析了当前面临的主要挑战。结果表明:我国非煤矿山职业危害主要涉及粉尘、噪声、高温等7类因素,存在“点多、面广、源强”的显著特点,防治难度大;在7类职业危害因素中,粉尘危害最为突出,且爆破粉尘、强疏水性微细粉尘、井下喷浆粉尘与高寒、低气压、超大规模开采粉尘防治是目前面临的主要挑战。在上述分析的基础上,指出我国非煤矿山职业健康防护技术未来发展方向为健全非煤矿山职业危害监管体系、强化职业危害控制科技创新与实践、推行职业危害防控专业化社会服务、坚持职业危害个性化与综合防治、探索职业危害智能化防治技术,逐步形成以监管落实为驱动、科技创新为抓手、社会服务为目标的科学发展模式,切实提高非煤矿山职业危害因素防治效果,保障工人职业健康与安全。

侧面爆破粉尘时空分布模拟分析

从开放性细颗粒物污染治理角度出发,建立建筑物拆除爆破产尘的几何计算模型,运用计算流体力学(CFD)工具,对给定环境风速下的建筑物周围压力场和速度场进行了模拟分析,并对侧面折叠爆破粉尘按R-R(Rosin-Rammler)分布,使用气流-粒子双向耦合的DPM模型研究了爆炸粉尘的时空分布。结果表明,下风侧因建筑物存在导致风速、压力急剧变化而产生涡流,涡流是影响爆破粉尘时空分布的关键因素之一。在时间上,爆破粉尘有气流拖曳运动状态和扩散态;在空间上,因重力作用致下部空间的粉尘浓度较大。

生物质改性制备抑尘剂研究进展

扬尘所引起的大气污染问题,对生态环境及人类健康所造成的危害日益突出,抑尘剂由于其高效的抑尘性能受到广泛关注。介绍了抑尘剂的分类、优缺点和应用场景,总结了近年来国内外生物质类抑尘剂的研究进展,分析了不同生物质在制备抑尘剂时的优劣势,并针对目前的不足,在测试标准、制备工艺、改性方法 3个方面做出进一步的研究展望。

综掘工作面风流调控装置与射流风幕综合调控粉尘场优化分析

为解决目前综掘工作面传统混合式通风下粉尘聚集污染严重的问题,提出了利用出风口风流调控装置与抽风口射流风幕综合调控优化粉尘场的思路。以陕北某矿综掘工作面为研究对象,建立了风流-粉尘气固耦合场有限元模型,分析了调控装置口径、调控装置右偏角、风幕出口宽度、风幕出口速度及风幕出口张角等参数对粉尘场的影响;设计了正交试验以确定最佳综合调控方案,设计搭建了实验平台进行综合调控方案准确性和降尘效果验证。结果表明:在该综掘工作面通风系统布局下,当调控装置口径1.2 m,调控装置右偏角9°,风幕出口宽度0.14 m,风幕出口速度7 m/s,风幕出口张角60°时,司机位置粉尘质量浓度和行人呼吸带高度平均粉尘质量浓度分别降低91.7%和74.9%,测试误差均在10%以下,有效改善了通风环境。