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An Exploratory Investigation on the Effectiveness of a Novel Vibration-Enhanced Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber

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Abstract

Airborne coal mine dust is an unintended and unavoidable result of coal extraction operations that raises notable health and safety concerns. Modern mining techniques utilize several dust mitigation strategies, and the flooded-bed dust scrubber (FBS) is one such technology used extensively on continuous miners. The conventional static panel filter, instrumental in most scrubber designs, is fundamentally limited in collection efficiencies due to a high clogging rate and a tradeoff between mesh density and airflow rate. To overcome these deficiencies, a novel vibrating mesh panel is proposed. In this study, a laboratory-scale dust scrubber unit was used to investigate the efficacy of concept as compared to that of a static mesh. A statistical design of experiments study was first used to determine the effective vibrational parameters and scrubber operational parameters on dust collection and clogging mitigation. Optimized results from this study were then evaluated against those of a static mesh to determine performance improvement while investigating the mechanisms controlling dust collection and particle department through the scrubber system. Results show that the vibrating mesh conditions and higher water flow rates led to an improvement in the collection efficiency of the scrubber system. Compares to a static-mesh, the vibrating mesh FBS showed a significant reduction in pressure drop across the mesh screen indicating lower air loss through the test duration. Overall, the findings confirm that vibrating filter mesh reduces filter clogging while maintaining high collection efficiencies. This research supports further technological advancement in mine dust mitigation technologies.

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Funding

This study was sponsored by the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health, Inc. (Alpha Foundation). The views, opinions, and recommendations expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not imply any endorsement by the Alpha Foundation, its directors, and staff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Mahmud Esad Uluer, Matt Shigo & Aaron Noble

  2. Department of Mining Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Seyed Hassan Amini

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  1. Mahmud Esad Uluer
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  2. Matt Shigo
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  3. Seyed Hassan Amini
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  4. Aaron Noble
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Correspondence to Mahmud Esad Uluer.

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Highlights

• A novel dust scrubber filter design is proposed to increase dust collection efficiency.

• The bench-scale scrubber unit was subjected to initial system sensitivity analysis.

• An experimental design was used to see how different vibrational parameters affect response variables.

• Coal dust is dislodged from the filter surface by a vibrating mesh screen.

• The vibration enhances the screen’s wettability, creating more dust and water mixtures.

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Uluer, M.E., Shigo, M., Amini, S.H. et al. An Exploratory Investigation on the Effectiveness of a Novel Vibration-Enhanced Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 41, 73–90 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-023-00889-w

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