An Evaluation Of Haul Road Dust Suppression At New Vaal Colliery

Author : Andrew Eck
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (133 download)

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Download or read book Evaluating Dust Suppressant Efficacy and Roadbed Stability of Dirt and Gravel Roads written by Andrew Eck and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fugitive dust emissions from dirt and gravel roads are the largest source of particulate matter less than ten microns (PM10) in the United States. This dust poses a threat to human and environmental health and is sometimes mitigated adding commercial dust suppression products to the road surface. Oil and gas produced waters (OGPW) can have similar chemistry to commercially available dust suppressant products and are an inexpensive or often free alternative for road managers. Pennsylvania and at least twelve other states have regulated OGPW for use as dirt and gravel road dust suppressants. Previous studies demonstrated that elevated concentrations of total dissolved salts (TDS) is predictive of better performing dust suppressant. However OGPW with high sodium content have been shown to increase fine material dispersion, which can drastically reduce dust suppression efficacy. This study evaluated dust suppression efficacy and roadbed stability of twelve OGPW, five commercial hygroscopic products (calcium and magnesium chloride salts), and five commercial organic products. Dust suppression efficacy was tested with an aerosol monitor by tumbling treated disks of roadbed material in a mechanical drum inside of a humidity-controlled chamber. Roadbed stability was evaluated by measuring total suspended solids in runoff from a model roadbed during a simulated rain event. Although OGPW can share some chemical characteristics (e.g. Ca and Mg concentrations, TDS) with commercial products, their efficacy is often no better to slightly worse than untreated roads or those treated with water alone. All OGPW from the Appalachian Basin performed significantly worse than the ten commercial products tested. OGPW treated roads also lost up to 15% more mass (up to 100 kg more per mile) in simulated rain events compared to water-treated roads. The high ratio of sodium content found in OGPW from the Appalachian Basin makes them ineffective dust suppressants that contribute to dustier and less-stable roads that likely have higher indirect costs than utilization of commercial dust palliatives. A field study of the impacts of chronic OGPW use as a road dust suppressant is presented in Chapter 3. Traces of OGPW including increased radium and bromide to chloride ratios are found in road aggregate, ditches, and wetland soil cores near historically treated roads. In wetland cores, age dating reveals that some of these tracers accumulate around the time that OGPW spreading in northwestern Pennsylvania was increasing dramatically. Finally, this chapter identifies areas for future research.