Synthesis of a Plant-based Dust Suppressant and Testing on Coal from Moatize, Mozambique

The dust suppressant was synthesized using Pinus elliottii resin as raw material for the new plant-based formulation. The dust suppressant formulation was prepared by solubilizing rosin in a ternary solution containing calcium chloride, ultrapure water, and ethanol in a molar ratio of 1:2:8. After centrifugation the supernatant was collected, 20 mL of 2 % gamma-polyglutamic acid dissolved in an aqueous ethanol solution was added, and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours. The dust suppressant formulation included Pinus extract and gamma-PGA acid, resulting in a plant-based dust suppressant. The performance of the new formulation in reducing PM10 was significantly superior (82.7 %) to that of wa-ter. This suppressant is suitable for spraying onto coal ore piles and hopper cars carrying coal ore. The wettability of the product was analyzed by the Walker test, which con-firmed its adhesiveness to coal dust.