Abstract
Fugitive dust is a serious threat to unpaved road users from a safety and health point of view. Dust suppressing materials or dust suppressants are often employed to lower the fugitive dust. Currently, many dust suppressants are commercially available and are being developed for various applications. The performance of these dust suppressants depends on their physical and chemical properties, application frequency and rates, soil type, wind speed, atmospheric conditions, etc. This article presents a comprehensive review of various available and in-development dust suppression materials and their dust suppression mechanisms. Specifically, the dust suppressants that lower the fugitive dust either through hygroscopicity (ability to absorb atmospheric moisture) and/or agglomeration (ability to cement the dust particles) are reviewed. The literature findings, recommendations, and limitations pertaining to dust suppression on unpaved roads are discussed at the end of the review.
Highlights
Unlike other polymer-based dust suppressants such as polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acrylic polymer latex, which possessed glass transition temperatures (Tg ) greater than 0 ◦ C and were adequate to sustain only static conditions of traffic, the authors aimed at developing a dust suppressant that has low glass transition temperature that can sustain under dynamic conditions such as moving and tumbling of heavy traffic
Gillies et al studied the performance of polymer emulsion (PE), petroleumemulsion with polymer (PEP), and nonhazardous crude oil (NHCO)-containing material-based commercial products, applying them on unpaved roads, which stabilized fugitive dust particles by agglomeration [86]
This paper systematically reviewed the dust suppressants belonging to three broad categories: organic compound-based, a combination of biopolymer and chemical, and inorganic compound-based dust suppressants
Summary
Keeping in view the dreadful impacts of fugitive dust on human health and safety, state departments of transportation (DoTs) and local (county/city/rural) agencies often employ maintenance techniques on these unpaved roads, such as paving, blading, speed control, and chemical stabilization to circumvent the entrainment of fugitive dust and to ensure the safety of unpaved road users [24]. Among these techniques, dust suppressants or chemical stabilizers are most widely adopted in practice due to their ease of application and low cost.
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