The development of high expansion foam systems for the suppression of respirable coal dust. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Aug 15 04:00:00 EDT 1973

OSTI ID:5149225

Friel, J V; Hays, H E; Hiltz, R H

The current practice of mining coal underground with continuous mining machines provides levels of coal dust in the immediate area beyond the limits deemed safe for continuing exposure of the operating personnel. Effective control of the respirable portion of the dust has not been possible with the current methods of allaying the dust. The present practice depends on water sprays to minimize the amount of dust generated and face ventilation to remove that which does become airborne. Solutions, therefore, are required which can be applied to the current operations. A number of solutions have been proposed to accomplish this result on existing machinery. Among these, and one with considerable merit, is the use of high expansion foam to blanket the cutting operation, preventing the release of dust into the air. This is not a new system. In almost every instance where foam application was such that the dust was not allowed to become airborne, significant reductions in dust concentrations were noted. In each case, however, there were drawbacks to prevent the use of foam for dust suppression, not the least of which were the economics involved. The failure of detergent foams to achieve practical results in these tests should in no way reflect on its ultimate ability as a method of dust control.

• Research Organization: MSA Research Corp., Evans City, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5149225
• Report Number(s): PB-82-151333; MSAR-73-82
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
016000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
COAL MINES
COLLOIDS
CONTINUOUS MINERS
CONTROL
CUTTER LOADERS
DESIGN
DISPERSIONS
DUSTS
ECONOMICS
EQUIPMENT
FOAMS
MINES
MINING
MINING EQUIPMENT
POLLUTION CONTROL
SPRAYS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING
VENTILATION
WORKING CONDITIONS