Foam dust suppressant based on synergistic coordination between oxidized starch-gelatin Schiff base reaction and multiple crosslinking

Abstract

Aiming at the problems such as large dust in each production process of open-pit mines, insufficient water resistance of the curing layer of dust control materials, and poor mechanical strength, this research applied the network generated by Schiff base reaction between oxidized starch (OS) and gelatin (GEL) as the basis, and combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and calcium chloride (CaCl₂). This material improves the problem of poor dust suppression effect caused by the environment of open-pit coal mines. It was found that the large number of amino groups contained in GEL attack the carbon atoms in the carbonyl group of OS to form carbon-nitrogen double bonds, generating Schiff bases as the crosslinking network, which enhanced the water resistance of the polymers. The addition of PVA enables the molecules to form a multiple hydrogen bond crosslinking network, and the addition of CaCl₂ can further trigger ionic bond crosslinking, thereby enhancing the water-holding properties of the dust suppressant. The solidity of the bonding layer can achieve 85HA, and the efficiency of 20 min wind erosion and rainfall resistance reached >96 %. The foam half-life was improved by 29 min. This research provides new ideas for the research of dust pollution in open-pit coal mines.