Biodegradable dust suppressants using biomass- based polymeric materials

Abstract

Either natural or anthropogenic fugitive dust causes a serious hazard to the environment and human health, in many countries and areas all around the world. In this study, development of biodegradable dust suppressants and their environmental impacts were evaluated Biodegradable dust suppressants were synthesized using various biomass-based polymeric materials such as crude glycerol (a by-product of biodiesel manufacturing), biodiesel, palm oil, cooking oil, seaweed mixtures, wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), and red algae. The results of wind tunnel tests with Korean standard sand demonstrated that spraying diluted mixtures of crude glycerol and biomass materials can significantly reduce the generation of dust. The optimal molar mixing ratio of crude glycerol and the biomass materials was 1:1, and the optimal dilution concentration was determined to be 100 times for the mixture of crude glycerol and biodiesel, palm oil, and cooking oil and 50 times for the mixture of crude glycerol with a seaweed mixture, wakame, and red algae. The suppression ability was 83.4%, 60.4%, 99.5%, and 98.1% for the mixtures of glycerol with soybean oil, palm oil, wakame, and red algae, respectively. The mixtures of glycerol plus wakame or red algae were the most efficient suppressants; they also have substantial biodegradability. Our results suggest that the mixture of crude glycerol with the various oils or the seaweeds may be a promising option to develop non-toxic biodegradable dust suppressants.