Study on MICP dust suppression technology in open pit coal mine: Preparation and mechanism of microbial dust...

With the recent increases in energy demands, the dust hazards of coal mining caused by transportation, loading and unloading and other processes are becoming increasingly serious. To control dust in open pit coal mines more environmentally friendly and efficiently, and to promote the use and development of non-in situ high-yield urease microorganisms for dust suppression in coal mines, Bacillus pasteurii was selected for dust suppression experiments in this article. Additionally, the growth of microorganisms in the coal dust microenvironment was simulated, and the effect of microbial mineralization products on the calorific value of upper coal dust was further studied. Our findings indicated that Bacillus pasteurii induced dust suppression by forming a calcite precipitate with non-uniform particle size to coal dust cementation. Moreover, after a single spray, the wind erosion resistance efficiency was 84% when the wind speed was set at 10 m/s. The growth of microorganisms and urease activity in the coal dust leachate were largely equal to those in the control group, reaching a peak at approximately 24 h, that the maximum growth quantity of OD₆₀₀ was about 1.5, and the maximum urease activity was 11 mmol·L^-1·min^-1. The difference between the peak heat release rate of mixed coal dust and pure coal was only 4.82 kW/m², which would not affect the value of coal products. Non in-situ Bacillus pasteurii can be growth metabolized normally in the microenvironment of coal dust. Finally, the mechanism of coal dust suppression by mineralization of microbial bacterial solution to form calcium carbonate was described by a reaction equation, which is important for further application and development of microbial dust suppressants.