Reduction of Airborne Bauxite Residue Dust Pollution by Enhancing the Structural Stability via the Application of Non-traditional Stabilizers

Dust migration from bauxite residue causes serious occupational diseases and dramatic pollutions to on-site workers and the surrounding environment. In order to investigate the enhancement of mechanical properties and wind erosion behavior of non-traditional stabilizers in mitigating bauxite residue dust pollution, this paper carried out mechanical tests and wind tunnel simulations to reveal the independent and cooperative effect of mechanical properties on dust control performance and the effect of particle size on the accuracy of dust control evaluation strategy. Results illustrated the great significance of stabilizer concentration and particle size on both mechanical properties and dust control performance of treated samples. The penetration resistance was more accurate and effective in predicting dust control performance for lignosulfonate stabilizers, while unconfined compressive strength is more competitive as a key predicting index for polymer stabilizers. Particle size is critical to the evaluation of the dust control effect.