Study on formulation optimization of surfactant-nanoparticle composite foam dust suppression

To address the insufficient dust control efficiency and poor adaptability of traditional dust suppression methods in coal mining, this study proposes a novel foam dust removal system based on “surfactant mixture + nanoparticle strengthening.” First, anionic surfactant SDS and nonionic surfactant AEO-9 were chosen as the main blowing agents, and APG as the wetting agent. Second, orthogonal test and weight method analyses optimized the formulation, yielding the optimal blend: 0.5% SDS + 0.5% AEO-9 + 0.8% APG. The effect of nano-SiO2 concentration on foam stability is then studied. The initial foam volume was 500 mL, the half-life was 1,740 s, and the coal settling time was 4.45 s. Adding 10 nm SiO2 nanoparticles at 0.4 g L−1 increased the foam half-life by 37.9% to 2,400 s, greatly improving long-term dust suppression. This optimized system works with existing mine foam equipment and offers low raw material costs and strong adaptability for dust control in underground coal mining, such as coal cutting and tunneling.