Synergistic dust suppression using inorganic salt and anionic nonionic complex system

This study examines the synergistic effect of an inorganic salt and an anionic nonionic surfactant system on the wettability and moisture retention of bituminous coal dust. Wettability and evaporation behavior were characterized using sedimentation time, contact angle, surface tension, and evaporation loss. The optimized ternary formulation markedly improved wetting performance, reducing the contact angle to 16.17° and shortening the settling time to 6.23 s. Although the salt-free system exhibited slightly lower final evaporation loss, the salt-containing system achieved superior overall performance by coupling rapid wetting with enhanced moisture retention. Mechanistic analysis indicates that the inorganic salt strengthens interfacial interactions and regulates evaporation dynamics. These findings provide a practical strategy for sustained dust suppression and improved secondary dust control in coal mining environments.