Investigation on Impact of Dust Emission in Work and Buffer Zones of Iron Ore Processing Plant and its Management
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Abstract
There is a steady increase in air pollution in mining and related commercial areas due to the emission of dust. Mining activities generate significant amounts of dust, particularly during the drilling, blasting, crushing, screening, and handling of bulk materials in loading/unloading zones. This study is related to the measurement of the concentration of respirable dust and free silica to assess the effects of dust emissions in the work and buffer zones of an iron ore processing facility and take measures to mitigate it effectively when the threshold limit is crossed. It involves designing, installing, and experimenting with an automated intelligent dust suppression system that functions when dust concentration at those zones increases above permissible limits. The study evaluates the effectiveness of the system by comparing the dust levels before and after installation of the system. The system parameters can also be optimized for efficient dust management using air quality modeling and simulation techniques. The developed dust suppression system is creative and uses intelligent technology that combines hybrid acoustic split nozzles to spray dry fog by atomizing water droplets as small as sub-micron meters in size ( ) which allows precise aggregation of PM2.5 and PM10 dust particles. Both mist fog and dry fog systems add very less moisture to the material, being handled, than requirements, and can be as low as 0.1% and 2% for dry fog and mist fog respectively. The dry fog system has a higher efficacy of dust suppression than the mist fog system.
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