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By Marcus Nadler

WAGES in the United States, in spite of the wage freeze, have increased materially. Overtime payments have become standard practice in almost all industries. Now efforts are being made to place wages on an annual basis, and if this is adopted, it will result in an increase in the cost of production. Organized labor today is more powerful than ever before; union membership is large and steadily increasing, and in many instances membership in the union is a prerequisite to employment. The treasuries of many unions are strong as a result of the large membership and full employment. The unions, therefore, today are in a much better position than ever before to carry on long strikes. Politically, too, the unions are more powerful today than they ever were. On the basis of their strength, one may expect that some of the demands that the labor unions will make in the not distant future will be granted. It is, therefore, quite evident that before long, particularly when the curtailment in war production reaches about 40 per cent, this country will be confronted with a serious labor problem.

Jan 1, 1945

By Güldane Atesoglu, İsmail Atilgan

The changes in the elemental contents and the structural properties of chalcopyrite concentrate when roasted were studied, and the main reactions contributing to the leaching process revisited. Firstly, TG/DTA measurements were performed to identify the roasting temperatures that influenced the type of species reacting with sulphuric acid leaching liquor. The temperatures of main reactions, whose output may affect the subsequent leaching process, were analysed for the concentrate at hand, and concluded to be generally lower than those reported in literature. Secondly, the obtained results were confirmed by images and XRD measurements on the roasted concentrate at temperatures in between 350 and 600 °C with increments of 50 °C. Finally, the leaching behaviour of the roasted specimens in a stirred sulphuric acid solution examined and the Cu/ Fe selectivity investigated that the maximum Cu/Fe ratio in the pregnant solution would nearly be achieved for the roasting temperatures lower than 500 °C, since the oxidation temperature of iron sulphate is found lower than that of copper sulphate.

Aug 11, 2022

By B. Q. By

TiO2 is an ideal material for catalytic technology due to its unique properties. In this paper, Sm3+ doped TiO2 photo-catalyst was developed to improve the efficiency of TiO2 and to use the natural light as irradiation source, which was made from Titanium Tetrabutoxide and Samarium Oxide with the Sol-Gel process. The Sm3+-TiO2 photocatalyst was used to degrade reactive orange 4 (RO4) in Azo Dyes. The effects of solution pH, Sm3+ concentration and catalytic time on the degradation rate of RO4 were studied. The characteristics of the catalyst were analyzed with XRD and TEM. The experimental results show that the catalyst has high activity in the degradation of RO4. The Azo bonds of RO4 are active and easily broken by oxidation. The catalytic activity of the Sm3+ doped catalyst greatly depends on the pH of solution. The catalyst has high photo-catalytic activity at both neutral and alkaline conditions. The degradation mechanism of the Sm3+ doped TiO2 photo-catalyst was also discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Chander

The effect of sample storage in argon and in air on kinetics of oxidation of pyrite from a coal source was studied using accelerated weathering test in laboratory columns. Prior to the weathering tests the samples were crushed, ground, and stored for various time periods in argon and air. The results showed a dramatic difference in the rate of oxidation of the aged samples. The differences were interpreted based on the hypothesis that the aging of pyrite led to the formation of surface coatings which changed with time. The significance of these results in pyrite/reagent interactions in flotation and in evaluating the acid mine drainage potential of pyritic waste materials is discussed.

Jan 1, 1993

By Rouzbeh Vakili, Adel M. Hanna

"The application of piled raft foundations has significantly increased during the last few years. In this system, the raft and the pile group collectively transfer the applied building load to the underlying soil layers. Determination of load sharing between the raft and the piles derives the complexity of piled raft designs due to its multi-parameter nature. These parameters are but not limited to: soil density, pile length, pile spacing, raft geometry, and piles installation technique. This study is to examine experimentally the effect of sand density and pile installation techniques on the load sharing mechanism. Experimentally, tests were conducted on a square rigid raft with a single pile in sand under three different soil densities; 30%, 45%, and 60%. The experimental results are used to determine the pile and the raft shares in non-displacement and displacement piled raft systems. The results of this study reveal that soil density changes the load sharing of displacement piled raft; the pile share increases in higher soil density. However, this is not the case in non-displacement piled raft and load sharing is independent of soil density in working loads.IntroductionThe piled raft foundation is a combination of shallow and deep foundation which transfers the superstructure load to the soil by a complex soilstructure interaction. The interacting mechanism among foundation elements and their surrounding soil is illustrated schematically in Figure 1 and could be classified into two categories: (1) pile-soil-pile and (2) pile-soil-raft. The pile-soil-pile interaction is the same as the free standing pile group and is a function of pile spacing and pile installation method. Pile-soil-raft interaction, which only involves in piled raft foundation design, could be affected by: the length, spacing, and roughness of the pile, the rigidity and dimension of the cap, soil condition, and the pile installation method. Pile-soil-raft interaction could have favourable and unfavourable effects on bearing capacity and settlement, respectively. The pressure between the cap and the soil favourably increases the horizontal stress on the pile shaft and consequently increase the shaft resistance. Whereas, this pressure induces negative skin friction on the piles which increases the settlement. The pile-soil-raft interaction mainly controls the load sharing mechanism of piled raft foundation when pile spacing (S) is more than 3.5dp."

Jan 1, 2017

By E. Nejati, S. Khoshkooei, V. Firouzdor, M. Akbari, F. Khomamizadeh

In this study the effects of Si content on mechanical and thermal fatigue properties of Al-Si casting alloys were investigated. Repeated heating and cooling cycles were applied on the samples at 230°C to develop thermal fatigue cracks. Crack growth mechanisms and microstructural influences were investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Thermal fatigue behaviors were improved successively by increasing of silicon content up to 7wt%. However, addition of more than 9wt% silicon decreased the thermal shock resistance of the alloy. Silicon contents of about 9wt% presented the best mechanical and thermal fatigue resistance in the alloy.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. B. Shongwe, G. Freemantle, M. Botha, S. Brill, J. D. Steenkamp

During steelmaking, one important factor for production efficiency is the free opening of the ladle nozzle during continuous casting. Free opening occurs when the well filler sand and the steel flow freely when the slide gate is opened. Well filler sands are used for the slide gate of a ladle to separate the slide gate refractory and the molten steel. The well filler sand is partially sintered by the heat of the molten metal, which can result in the ladle nozzle failing to open if the sand is not sintered to an appropriate extent. It is therefore of great importance that the sintering behaviour of well filler sand is understood. We studied the effect of the well filler sand chemistry on its sintering properties. Samples of well filler sand with various chemical compositions were sintered in a high-temperature chamber furnace. Quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICPOES), and wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) by electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) were used to analyse the various well filler sand mixes. Points of analysis were indicated on backscattered electron (BSE) micrographs. Quantitative element mapping was undertaken by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Thermodynamic calculations in FactSage predicted the percentage liquid phase present for the various well filler sand compositions at equilibrium conditions. The results of this work show that the degree of sintering of chromite-silica well filler sand depends strongly on the silica content. The amount of liquid phase formed increases with increasing silica content.

Feb 2, 2022

By Min Chen, Cui-huan Huang, Zhen Tian, Jian-hong Dong

"The present work studied the production of Fe-Si-Mn alloy from adjusted converter slag by thermodynamic analysis. The results showed that solubility of SiO2 in the molten slag increased with increment of temperature, and it is about 80% at 1800 ?. With increment of SiO2 content, a(MnO) and a(CaO) decreased, and a(FeO) increased to the maximum when w(SiO2) is about 30%. As a result, the reduction of the slag was in the order of Fe?Mn?P before SiO2 reduction, the reduction order was Fe?P?Mn?Si when SiO2 content in the slag was from 46.4% to 54.2%, and changed to Fe?Si?P?Mn when SiO2 content exceeded 54.2%. The mass fraction of Si in the alloy phase increases with increasing of w(SiO2) in the slag, and the mass fraction of Si in the alloy reached to 62.2% at 1800 ?.IntroductionFerroalloy production is a high energy consumption and high pollution industry[1-2]. If ferroalloy production could be produced from molten slag by addition of carbon-reducing agent, the valuable metal and oxide in the slag can be recycled, most importantly, if the high-temperature resource carried by molten slag can be made full use in the field of ferroalloy production, the power consumption of ferroalloy production could be cut down greatly.Converter steel slag is a kind of byproduct in steelmaking processing increasing rapidly with the increment of crude steel, but the utilization ratio is low. Most heat recovery research is still in the experimental stage except the heat recovery of blast furnace slag by water quenching method, at present[3-4]. It is of great significance for enterprises to energy saving and emission reduction if the molten steel slag could be utilized directly. Not only the reuse methods of liquid steel slag material can be promoted, but also the use of heat carried in the slag could be achieved. The basicity of converter slag is high and the activity of SiO2 is low so the reduction of SiO2 in the slag is little. The compositions of slag and metal phases were calculated by Factsage program on different conditions to explore the reduction of converter slag for recovery of valuable metals and an efficient new way to use the high-temperature heat combining with the current reuse and research status of converter slag. Further, the improvement of components activity in slag and the increase of Si concentration in the metal were also dicussed."

Jan 1, 2012

By J H. Park, M J. Lee

Because the environmental problems are occurred by greenhouse gases such as CO2, the industries have tried to increase electric motor efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions. A core material of electric motor is high-silicon electrical steel. The ferrosilicon (FeSi) alloy, a raw material for the production of electrical steel, affects the electric properties of silicon steel. The main impurities such as Ca, Al and Ti make inclusions or precipitates that causes core loss. The slag treatment has been widely used to remove impurity elements. Thermodynamic principles for the refining of several impurities, specifically Ca and Al, have been investigated, whereas thermodynamic behaviour of Ti has not been fully understood yet. Therefore, in the present study, the titanium distribution ratio () between ferrosilicon and CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 slag system at 1773 K was investigated. The results show that is influenced by both the basicity and stability of titanium ion in the slag. Specifically, exhibits a minimum value at about C/S=0.7 indicating a shift in the titanate structure unit from [TiO5]-square pyramid to [TiO4]-tetrahedron because of lack of Ca2+ ions in a C/S<0.8 region, contributing to an increase in titanate capacity and .

Jun 19, 2024

By Lyall Zickrick

NUMEROUS brands of virgin pig lead are used in the manufacture of lead and lead-alloy cable sheath for commercial cables. In changing from one brand of pig lead to another a readjustment of press operating conditions is nearly always necessary. This is due largely to different flow characteristics, and some brands extrude at a much lower pressure than others; for example, copper-bearing lead requires much more pressure than a low-bismuth lead under the same operating conditions. With the modern type of lead press the extrusion practice in general differs very little. Molten lead at a temperature of 375° to 400° C. (710° to 750° F.) is cast in a water-cooled cylinder and allowed to cool or solidify into a slug for six to nine minutes. . This slug is forced into the die block and around the core tube through which the cable runs. The die block is held at an optimum temperature by means of gas flames, usually 175° to 225° C. (350° to 4.35° F.). Measurements of the tem¬perature of the cable sheath taken at the time of extrusion have covered a range of 190° to 225° C. (375° to 435° F.). According to Tammann, the rate of extrusion for a metal under constant pressure through a simple orifice is almost doubled for each 10° C. rise in temperature. Because of the irregularity of die-block construction, such a great increase is not obtained in lead-cable extrusion practice. To obtain more" definite information about the effect of small per¬centages of metals usually present as impurities in virgin pig lead, a series of compression tests were made covering several different brands of lead and various alloys. Since the usual temperature of the sheath is approxi¬mately 200.° C. as it emerges from the die block, these compression tests were all performed at 200° C. Five different brands of virgin pig lead were selected, as follows: Brand A: A desilverized western lead of very high purity. This lead contains neither copper nor bismuth. Brand B: A bismuth-free southeastern Missouri lead, usually con¬taining 0.05 to 0.08 per cent copper. Brand C: A copper-free mid-western desilverized lead of very good grade, usually containing around 0.06 to 0.10 per cent bismuth.

Jan 1, 1932

By Rongjie Kong, Shiwei Wang, Dongjiao Gui

Metal cations have significant effects on the flotation of coal and minerals. In this study, the effects of monovalent cations ( Na+ and K+) on the flotation of low-rank coal (LRC) were investigated using flotation and particle–bubble attachment experiments and through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and molecular dynamics simulations. Oleic acid (OA), methyl linoleate (ML), hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), ricinoleic acid (RA), and kerosene were used as flotation collectors. The flotation experiments revealed that the flotation yields of LRC improved when OA, ML, RA, CTAC, and kerosene were used in pure deionized water. However, flotation was suppressed for these collectors in the presence of K+ and Na+ ions. In contrast, when using CTAC, the flotation yield increased in the presence of these ions. Specifically, the flotation yield increased from 41.24 to 87.03% when 2.0 kg/t CTAC was used in 10 mmol/L NaCl solution. Particle–bubble adhesion experiments and XPS revealed that the hydrophilic groups of CTAC were adsorbed on the LRC surfaces by electrostatic forces, whereas the oxygen-containing functional groups of OA, ML, and RA formed hydrogen bonds with the LRC surface in pure water. Finally, the simulating result revealed that the hydrophobic ends of the OA, ML, and RA collectors hinder the flotation of LRC by adsorbing monovalent cations, whereas the adsorption of monovalent cations on the hydrophobic end of the cationic surfactant (CTAC) promotes flotation via strong electrostatic interactions.

Jan 31, 2024

By J. Petersen, H. Naderi, H. Zare, M. H. Nikzad, M. Karimi

In the copper electrorefining process, the dissolution of anodes is significantly reduced or even stopped when the passivation phenomenon occurs. The results of this phenomenon are increasing energy consumption, residual formatting, and voltage levels in the cell. In this study, the electrochemical behaviour of blister copper in the presence of sodium persulfate (PDS) was studied. The electrochemical methods of LPR, Tafel, and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were used. The results showed that the addition of sodium persulfate activates the electrode surface and increases the open circuit potential. In the presence of PDS, the polarisation resistance of the electrode shows an increasing or decreasing tendency, based on the PDS concentration. This tendency is probably due to the formation of surface layers (such as slime layer or copper sulfate) and dissolution of this layer at various concentrations of PDS. The lowest polarisation resistance of 1.8 ohms and the highest corrosion current of 60.6×10-3 and 36.6×10-3 A/cm2 from LPR and Tafel techniques respectively were obtained at the concentration of 40 g/l PDS. Based on the results of potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests, the addition of sodium persulfate to the solution reduces the corrosion resistance, therefore the passivation time of the blister copper anode increases. Keywords: Blister copper, electrorefining, sodium persulfate, anodic passivation

Jan 1, 2020

By N Kado, T Iwama, R Inoue, S Ueda

Steelmaking slags are usually used as roadbed and civil engineering materials. However, the expansion phenomenon, which is caused by the volume expansion during hydration of free CaO and free MgO contained in steelmaking slag, is indispensable. Since the hydration of free MgO in steelmaking slag is much slower than that of free CaO, it is qualitatively considered that free MgO contributes to the hydration expansion of steelmaking slag over a long period of time. Similar to free CaO, free MgO consists of undissolved MgO and crystallised MgO in steelmaking slag. The latter precipitates during slag cooling. When divalent metal oxides (FeO, MnO, CaO) are dissolved in the crystallised MgO to form a MgO-based solid solution, it is expected to inhibit the hydration reaction similar to precipitated CaO. From the previous hydration test of Magnesioferrite, which was calcined after mixing MgO and Fe2O3 reagents, it was found that the higher the Fe2O3 concentration, the slower the hydration reaction progressed. In this study, by clarifying the influence of calcination conditions of MgO-FeO and MgO-FeO-MnO solid solutions, which were prepared by the calcination of mixture of MgO, FeO and MnO reagents, on their hydration reactivity, the effect of composition and thermal treatment on the formation of free MgO that is not hydrated (or easily hydrated) were discussed. To investigate the influence of MgO grain size, coarse MgO particles, which were obtained by crushing MgO crucible, were also used for heat treatment. With increasing the amount of FeO and MnO in the MgO-FeO-MnO solid solution, the hydration reaction became more suppressed. The expansion suppression effect was higher with solid-solved FeO than with solidsolved MnO. When the calcination temperature of the MgO-FeO solid solution was increased, the Fe3+/Fe2+ concentration ratio increased, resulting in a higher hydration rate.

Jun 19, 2024

By S. Sener

In this investigation, the changes in the grindability of both ulexite and colemanite related with the different structural modifications created by the heat treatment were examined with respect to work index (Wi). The effects of the heat treatment temperature and time on grindability index were also investigated. It was observed that, heat treatment significantly affected on the grindability of ulexite. The work index of original ulexite was found 7.11 kWh/shton and decreased to 3.5 kWh/shton level within 200-480°C for 60 minutes. On the other hand, the work index of original colemanite was found as 6.48 kWh/shton and no appreciable change was observed when heated up to 320°C. Thermally assisted comminution can be used to improve the grindability characteristics of ulexite. Besides, the different behaviour of ulexite and colemanite under heat treatment can be used for their separation. The artificial mixture of ulexite and colemanite could be separated with over 90% recovery by utilizing their different grindability characteristics by thermal treatment, semi-autogeneous grinding and screening.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. Khan

The effect of sulfur dioxide on collectorless and collector induced flotation of chalcopyrite was studied by cyclic voltammetry on a rotating disc electrode. Contact angle measurements were made to determine the effect of sulfur dioxide concentration and electrochemical treatment. The benefits of sulfur dioxide in enhancing the selectivity of separating chalcopyrite from complex sulfide ores are discussed.

Jan 1, 1996

By K. D. Mehta

Copper concentrate containing complex sulphides of Cu-Ni with 14.13% Cu and 10.04% Ni besides impurities such as 0.33% Co and 0.71% Mo, is not acceptable to the copper smelters due to the smelting problems. Selective bioleaching of nickel from the concentrate can be considered an an option to make it suitable for copper smelter. Effect of elemental sulphur and pyrite on the bioleaching of Ni and Co has been investigated using a mixed culture of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A.f.) and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans (A.t.). Parameters such as pH, temperature, particles, size etc. were optimised to understand the role of additives in the bioleaching. With 2% S at 308K, 2.0 pH, 5% pulp density and 200µm size particles while shaking at 100 rpm, 79% Ni, 41% Co and 5% Cu were bioleached as compared to the leaching of 81% Ni and 45% Co in presence of 10 wt% pyrite in 60 days; 27% Ni, 24% Co and 4% Cu were recovered in sterile experiment. The selective dissolution of nickel and cobalt as compared to copper may be explained by galvanic interaction between chalcopyrite: pentlandite / pyrrhotite. Bioleaching was facilitated by strong oxidizing conditions due to higher Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio/redox potential (ESCE) as a result of improved interaction of minerals through biooxidation of sulphur and accelerated galvanic interaction by pyrite. The mechanism of selective leaching of Ni and Co was established by XRD phase identification.

Sep 1, 2012

By Débora Cardoso de Oliveira Silveira, Jean-Christophe Huber, Hamzeh Hamadeh, Kateryna Pastel, Guillaume Brosse

The dynamic behavior of oxygen gas flow, determined by the lance nozzle and blow pattern, is a key factor for determining jet efficiency in BOF Steelmaking. The present work compares the performances of Laval and parabolic nozzles with the aid of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The Method of Characteristics (MOC) was applied to design a minimum length parabolic nozzle. The results show that the parabolic nozzle generates more uniform and stable jet, with 2% longer potential core and supersonic length and less shock waves. For the parabolic nozzle, the pressure nearby the nozzle wall is higher, which can protect this region from reverse flow of converter gases and offer longer life for the lance tip. Likewise, the flow rate variations would affect less this nozzle. In addition, the nozzle wear was investigated, and the parabolic nozzle has proven relatively less sensitivity to the presence of this deformity.

Oct 1, 2019

By Roe-Hoan Yoon, lsmail Yildirim, Jinhong Zhang

Inorganic fillers and pigments such as kaolin, diatomaceous earth silica, and talc were treated with various surfactants, and the changes in their surface properties monitored. When they were treated with a cationic surfactant, they became hydrophobic and the overall surface free energies were decreased substantially. The decrease in surface free energy was mostly due to the decrease in the acid-base component (ysab) of the surface free energy, indicating that hydrophobizing an inorganic pigment entails a reduction in ysab. It was found that the surface characterization technique employed in the present work was useful for studying the effects of using various other surfactants for surface treatment.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. M. Demers, D. C. Kuhn

"Kuhn, Douglas C., and Laurence M. Demers. Effect of surfactant on basal and silica-induced eicosanoid production by the alveolar macrophage. Am. J . Physiol. 269 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 13): L165-Ll 70, 1995.-Infiammation and fibrosis subsequent to the inhalation of certain mineral dust particles has been suggested to result from the activation of eicosanoid synthesis by the alveolar macrophage (AM). To determine if surfactant modifies dust-induced generation of eicosanoids by the AM, we evaluated the effect of the surfactant lipid dipalmitoyl lecithin (DPL) on the production of eicosanoids by rat AM exposed to respirable silica dust in vitro. During the first 24-h exposure period, DPL alone significantly increased basal production of eicosanoids but completely inhibited silica-induced thromboxane A2 synthesis. In contrast, leukotriene B4 (LTB4 ) production was only partially reduced by DPL. During a second 24-h exposure period, LTB4 production in response to the highest dose of silica remained significantly elevated in the presence of DPL. Similar results were obtained when the surfactant preparation Survanta was evaluated. These results suggest that 1 ) DPL and Survanta independently activate AM eicosanoid production, 2) DPL and Survanta modulate the response of the AM to silica dust, and 3) L TB4 may be the most important eicosanoid mediator of the long-term effects of silica dust exposure on lung pathophysiology. THE OXYGENATED METABOLITES of arachidonic acid (AA) (here collectively termed eicosanoids) have been implicated as important regulators of lung physiology and are thought to be involved in pathophysiological sequelae such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, asthma, and the pulmonary complications of sepsis (20). This role is manifested through both direct effects on lung physiology as well as through an indirect modulatory effect on the release of other mediators of lung injury, in particular profibrotic cytokines such as the interleukins and tumor necrosis factor (15). Recently, exaggerated eicosanoid production by both the alveolar macrophage (AM) and the type II epithelial cell has been demonstrated to result from the exposure of these cells to several particulates, including crystalline silica (quartz) dust (5, 9, 17). These observations have led to the suggestion that eicosanoids play a major role in the etiology of pneumoconioses.Another secretory component of the pulmonary environment, surfactant, has been shown to modulate crucial AM functions, such as bactericidal activity and the recruitment of circulating immune cells (25). Indeed, an important feature of the lung's reaction to inhaled mineral dust is an increase in surfactant production, perhaps as a compensatory or protective response (1, 16). In addition, the alteration of the surface properties of mineral dust by surfactant or its components has been shown to influence the biochemical response of the AM to the dust, perhaps by altering the surface charge of the dust particle (11, 29, 32). And recently, Wallace et al. (28) have shown that the coating of mineral dust with surfactant, and its subsequent removal by lysosomal phospholipase, unmasks differences in dust cytotoxicity that are not apparent when AM are exposed to uncoated dust. Thus it appears that the inclusion of surfactant in in vitro exposure studies may be important in evaluating both the absolute levels of eicosanoid production by the normal and dust-exposed AM and the temporal relationship between dust exposure and the production of inflammatory mediators by the AM. Therefore, we characterized the effects of the surfactants dipalmitoyl lecithin (DPL; the primary lipid component of natural surfactant) and Survanta (a commercially available surfactant derived from bovine lung) on basal and silica-induced AM eicosanoid production during two 24-h periods after exposure to dust particles to both allow the enzymatic removal of surfactant from the particle surface and evaluate the k"

Dec 1, 1996

By H. Polat, Q. Hu, S. Chander

"The collection efficiency of dust particles was determined in a laboratory dust chamber equipped with a water spray. Measurements were made in the presence of selected nonionic, cationic and anionic surfactants. For the nonionic and the anionic reagents, efficiency was maximum in a narrow range of concentration. The surfactant concentration corresponding to high collection efficiency was usually much below the commonly used concentration of l "", however. In comparison, much higher collection efficiency was observed for a cationic surfactant at extremely low concentrations. For delineating the mechanism of capture of dust particles, surface tension and contact angle results were used to obtain a correlation between the work of adhesion and the efficiency of collection. Such a correlation was reasonable for the nonionic surfactants but not for charged surfactants. In the latter case, electrostatic interactions between charged droplets and particles were more important, especially for the cationic reagent. INTRODUCTIONSeveral methods are used to control dust in mines. These include: ventilation, foam, scrubbers and sprays. This article is concerned with improving the effectiveness of water sprays, which are widely used to remove dust particles during continuous mining, by adding small quantities of surfactants. Water sprays produce small droplets which act as collectors of dust particles suspended in air. Sprays directed at the actual source of dust have the additional property of wetting the coal before the ·particles become airborne (Hamilton, 1974). Wetting agents, also called surfactants, arc known to play an important role in many applications where dust is a problem. However, conflicting reports exist in the literature with regard to the effectiveness of surfactants in water sprays (for a review, see Chander et al., 1988). In spite of the conflicting reports, the use of surfactants for dust control has increased over the years. In a recent study by the Bureau of Mines, a 27'6 reduction in respirable dust levels was observed in a mine test when surfactants were added to sprays (Foley, 1991)."

Mar 1, 1992