Experimental investigation of the wetting ability of surfactants to coals dust based on physical chemistry characteristics of the different coal samples

To select suitable surfactant as water-spray additive to improve dust suppression efficiency, six types of coal sample (lignite, long flame coal, non-caking coal, gas coal, coking coal, and anthracite) were selected from some typical mining areas in China, the influence of the physical chemistry characteristics of coal samples on the wetting ability of surfactants to the coals dust was investigated. Their proximate composition, ultimate content, chemical structure, surface morphology, pore structure parameters, and contact angle were determined. Three kinds of anionic surfactants – Sodium Alcohol Ether Sulphate (AES), Sodium Alpha-Olefin Sulfonate (AOS), Fatty Acid Methyl Esters Ethoxylate Sulfonate (FMES) – and one kind of nonionic surfactant – Coco Diethanolamide (CDEA) – were selected to carry out sedimentation experiments on the coal samples dust, to explore the main factors influencing the wettability of the coal samples dust. Among these factors, pore size is the main factor determining the wettability of coal dust, the contact angle decreases linearly (R² = 0.96) with pore size increase. The experimental results demonstrate that the following factors produce correspondingly increased wettability: higher moisture content, lower carbon content, higher oxygen content, more oxygen-containing functional groups, and increased pore size. In addition, the wettability of the six types of the coal samples dust shows a high-low-high trend with metamorphic degree increase, lignite has the strongest wettability, and the coking coal with the highest degree of metamorphism in the selected bituminous coal sample has the weakest wettability. Moreover, compared with nonionic surfactants, anionic surfactants have stronger wetting ability, but the same anionic surfactants have different wetting abilities to coal dust with different metamorphic degrees. AOS has stronger wetting ability to the dust of long flame coal, non-caking coal, and anthracite; AES has stronger wetting ability to the dust of lignite and coking coal; and FMES has stronger wetting ability to the dust of gas coal. The research results provide a theoretical basis for different coal mines to select suitable surfactants as water-spray additives to improve dust suppression efficiency.