Novel Approach for Suppressing Cutting Dust Using Foam on a Fully Mechanized Face with Hard Parting

Abstract

The cutting dust created by the shearer drum is the main source of dust on a fully mechanized coal face. However, overexposure to respirable dust may cause pneumoconiosis in coal workers, while coal dust may lead to serious explosions. The fully mechanized face known as II1051 Face, found at the Zhuxianzhuang Coal Mine located in east China, generates dust by way of the drum on a high-power shear. The coal seam involves hard rock parting so there is a high concentration of cutting dust when the shearer is working. Thus, we developed a new foam dust suppression method with an air self-suction system based on an analysis of the dust generation characteristics that suppressed the shearer cutting dust level. The new foam system was evaluated in a field test where the dust concentration was measured at two points. The results showed that the foam reduced the cutting dust concentration significantly. The respirable dust exposure levels were reduced from 378.4 mg/m³to 53.5 mg/m³and the visibility was enhanced dramatically. Thus, we conclude that our new foam system is highly efficient at capturing cutting dust, and it has a much lower water consumption.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: Contact angle of cutting dust sample, migration trajectory of cutting dust, technological process for suppressing shearer cutting dust using foam, the layout of the foam dust suppression system on coal face, real object of the air self-suction type foam generator, the special foam nozzle used for shearers, relevant experimental results of the air self-suction foam system.]

Keywords:

• pneumoconiosis
• cutting dust
• foam
• dust suppression
• shearer
• fully mechanized face

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51134020), and A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) supported this work. The authors are very grateful to the technicians of Zhuxianzhuang Coal Mine for their assistance. Thanks also go to Mark Nicas, Norma Firestone, and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive suggestions.