Efficient removal of atmospheric dust by a suppressant made of potato starch, polyacrylic acid and gelatin

Abstract

Air pollution by dust particles is a major health concern in urban and industrialized areas. Actual methods to reduce dust contamination, such as water spraying, are limited, calling for new dust suppressants. Here, we synthesized a liquid starch-based dust suppressant by grafting polyacrylic acid onto NaOH-pretreated potato starch and then crosslinking the grafted copolymer with gelatine. This dust suppressant was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, thermogravimetry, viscosity and contact angle measurements. We also measured permeability, water retention, anti-wind erosion and degradability of the dust suppressant. Field experiments tested the dust suppressing effect on particle matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and particulate particle matter 10.0 (PM10). We found that the addition of NaOH to potato starch improved the reaction efficiency and simplified the preparation process. The dust suppressant demonstrated excellent degradability, as shown by weight loss of 82 wt % after 60 days of soil burial, and the total dust suppression rates reached 57% for PM2.5 and 56% for PM10 in the field. Compared with spraying water, total dust suppression was higher by 25% and 33%, respectively.