Bioinspired Glycolipids as Mining Dust Mitigation Agents
- Principal Investigators (PI): Minkyu Kim, PhD, Materials Science and Engineering; David Hogan, PhD, Environmental Science (ES); Raina Maier, PhD, ES
- Partners: Chett Boxley, PhD, GlycoSurf, Inc.; Steve Trussel, Arizona Rock Products Association; Mark Eddy, ASARCO
Ambient air pollution is a leading contributor to disease burden, increasing morbidity and mortality rates. With 12% of global health impacts related to particulate matter attributed to the mining industry, there is a high value on effective dust mitigation methods. In this partnership between academia and industry, researchers investigated ways to suppress dust contributing to air pollution at mine sites by identifying and developing glycolipid formulations that work as dust suppressants.
Glycolipids are biologically based surfactants that are non-toxic, renewable and biodegradable and have proven to be effective at suppressing fugitive dusts in mining operations. A total of 19 glycolipids were analyzed in this project. Structure/function trends and surfactant characteristics were identified, allowing for an efficacy rating to be developed for each glycolipid combination through wind erosion tests against tailings. Next steps for this research include a 3-year field test and dust suppression trial in agricultural soils sponsored by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
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