Dust controls to improve quality of longwall intake air. Information Circular/1986

The Bureau of Mines has recently completed a program to identify and evaluate various methods that address control of dust generated by the longwall mining face. Dust-control techniques were identified and tested at a number of longwall-mining sections located in diverse geological conditions across the United States. Dust controls investigated include (1) methods that eliminate the sources of intake dust contamination-homotropal ventilation, (2) methods to limit the amount of respirable dust released into the intake airstream-improved water application and the use of curtains and enclosures, and (3) methods to clean the contaminated air prior to delivery to the mining face-scrubber systems. Usually, they can be implemented at a low cost and can be very effective. The report describes each technique and its application and presents the resulting conclusions.