Study on the property of self‐reactive colloidal dust suppressant and the synergistic dust suppressant mechanism

Abstract The poor plasticity of coal results in a large amount of dust during the mining process, thereby posing a significant impact on mine safety and the health of workers. In order to address this issue, a method has been proposed to suppress dust by enhancing the plasticity of coal through injecting a reactive material, which forms a colloid within the coal. The results implicated that the self‐active colloidal dust suppressant, composed of sodium alginate, gluconolactone, calcium disodium EDTA, and sodium dodecyl sulfate, effectively improved the moisture content of coal seams and decreased the brittleness of coal. Scanning electron microscopy and specific surface area test revealed that the dust suppressant not only tightly adheres to the surface of the coal after the reaction, but also penetrates the coal pores and forms a colloid on both the inner and outer surfaces of the coal. The material is rich in carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, which forms hydrogen bonds with the carboxyl and hydroxyl groups present in coal. This interaction enhances the toughness of coal. Simultaneously, it has the ability to adsorb water and function as a moisturizer. The combined synergistic effect of these mechanisms fundamentally reduces dust production during the coal mining process.