Influence of rock stratification on the performance of tailored wetting agents in open pit coal mines

Dust control through water injection and pre-wetting effectively reduces dust pollution at opencast coal mines by targeting its source. The wetting effect of a single wetting agent is limited for different Bedded Igneous Rocks in the Dananhu coal mine in Xinjiang. The study focused on identifying suitable surfactants by performing monomer preference experiments. A range of surfactants were evaluated to explore their degree of wetting in six distinct rock layers. Key performance indicators such as surface tension and wetting time were analyzed, and orthogonal experiments determined the optimal concentrations of the water wetting agent: 0.15% OP, 0.10% Fast T, 0.15% LAD-40, and 0.10% LAB-35. Comparative performance tests revealed that the developed wetting agent outperformed three commercially available wetting agents in terms of wetting efficiency. Using FLUENT, a three-dimensional flow field model for water injection and pre-wetting was established to evaluate the effects of water injection composition and pressure on pre-wetting performance. Experimental validation showed strong agreement with simulation results, highlighting the influence of injection parameters on wetting efficiency. This study provided a practical solution to address the challenge of uneven wetting in stratified raw rock, offering innovative advancements in dust control for surface coal mine working faces.