Abstract
Because of the unsatisfactory dust suppression efficiency, coal dust still threatens production safety and personnel health. In order to understand the influence of the chemical microstructures of the surfactant on the wetting ability and to facilitate the rapid selecting of surfactants with good wetting performances for specific coal dust, fatty acid methyl ester ethoxylate (FMEE), dodecyl dimethyl betaine (BS-12), sodium fatty acid polyoxyethylene ether carboxylate (AEC), and dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (DDBAC) were selected in this paper to study the wetting ability of these four surfactants on the bituminous coal dust in Tongchuan, Shaanxi province of China. First, the main functional groups and carbon composition of the coal dust and surfactants were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments. Second, the drop shape analysis system DSA100 was used to measure the equilibrium contact angle of the surfactant solution with a concentration of 0.06% on bituminous coal dust. The relationship between the chemical microstructures of surfactants and contact angles was analyzed, and the main influencing factors were obtained. The results showed that the contact angle of DDBAC on coal sample dust was the smallest. In addition, the contents of hydroxyl, aromatic ring carbon, unprotonated carbon, and bridged aromatic carbon in surfactants had significant linear correlations with wettability, and the increase of their contents would lead to the decrease of contact angle. According to the results of correlation analysis and curve fitting, the evaluation model of influencing factors on the wettability to bituminous coal dust was established.
Highlights
IntroductionA variety of new clean energy applications have been realized. coal is still one of the most important fossil fuels [1, 2], as statistics show that coal accounts for approximately 41% of energy used for power generation [3]
In recent years, a variety of new clean energy applications have been realized
A XQM series planetary ball mill was used to crush bituminous coal into powder; a NicoletiS10 Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrometer was used to acquire the infrared spectra of the coal samples and surfactants; a BRUKER AVANCE III 400 NMR spectrometer was used to acquire the 13C-NMR spectra of the coal samples and surfactants; a powder tablet press was used to prepare briquettes with a diameter of 13 mm and a thickness of approximately 1 mm from the pulverized coal. e drop shape analysis system DSA100 was used to determine the contact angle
Summary
A variety of new clean energy applications have been realized. coal is still one of the most important fossil fuels [1, 2], as statistics show that coal accounts for approximately 41% of energy used for power generation [3]. Erefore, the hydrophobicity of coal is the main reason for the unsatisfactory performance of water in dust suppression [13] Based on this conclusion, finding a dust suppressant that can improve the wettability of coal dust has become a research hotspot [14]. Using sticky polymers by spray can cause serious wear of the droplets, resulting in poor particle capture, and is not suitable for spraying Surfactants have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. Researchers have conducted some meaningful studies on the wetting behavior of surfactants on coal dust. The relationship between the physicochemical characteristics of coal dust, such as the functional groups, particle size, and roughness, and the wetting performance of water on coal have been reported [22]. Based on the analysis results, a model of the factors influencing the wettability was established to determine the quantitative relationship between the chemical microstructures and the ability of the surfactant to wet bituminous coal dust
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