Whether you’re working on roads or deep in a mine; dust control is important in the health of the workers, surrounding communities, and neighboring vegetation. Choosing the proper dust control product depends on the needs of the site, the soil, and weather. In this article, author Ed Ritchie examines several dust control products and their specific applications.
Thanks to the boom in fracking, oil and gas companies are using dust control products for long, unpaved roads travelled by heavy equipment vehicles. Jason R. Ramsey sees a lot of these roads in his role as vice president of business development for RAMCO Environmental LLC in Little Rock, AK. “PennzSuppress is very versatile and doesn’t migrate during a rain event,” says Ramsey. “It repels water so the rain will shear off to the sides into the ditch line. It doesn’t wash away, so there’s no risk of it getting into the water table or streams and rivers.”
Whether you’re working on roads or deep in a mine; dust control is important in the health of the workers, surrounding communities, and neighboring vegetation. Choosing the proper dust control product depends on the needs of the site, the soil, and weather. In this article, author Ed Ritchie examines several dust control products and their specific applications.
Thanks to the boom in fracking, oil and gas companies are using dust control products for long, unpaved roads travelled by heavy equipment vehicles. Jason R. Ramsey sees a lot of these roads in his role as vice president of business development for RAMCO Environmental LLC in Little Rock, AK. “PennzSuppress is very versatile and doesn’t migrate during a rain event,” says Ramsey. “It repels water so the rain will shear off to the sides into the ditch line. It doesn’t wash away, so there’s no risk of it getting into the water table or streams and rivers.”
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There’s something of an art to managing a heavily used mining or oil drilling access road, according to Andy Stevens, vice president with Enviroseal Corp. in Port St. Lucie, FL. “A lot of times we put gravel on the surface of the soil to keep the polymers from prematurely breaking down,” Stevens says. “Each job has different mechanics, such as soil and weather. A mining haul road is one of the toughest challenges. It has to do with the soil, because rocks and aggregates and soil break down and dislodge under heavy forces such as hundred-ton trucks running every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day.”
For such severe circumstances, Enviroseal offers M10+50, an all-acrylic, redispersible liquid soil stabilizer, designed to improve the performance of soils. Benefits associated with acrylics include improvements in adhesion, abrasion resistance, flexural strength, and exterior durability. It can blend directly with aggregate, soil, and other formulation aids to form a “one-pack” system, to reduce environmental waste (used containers) and lower shipping and packaging costs. Enviroseal makes four grades of polymers for soil stabilization, erosion, and dust control. But how do you know which grade is right for your situation?
In general, a soil analysis can help. Stevens notes that a sandy soil will use product differently than a silky soil, and clay will also have a different reaction. Moreover, it can depend on the type of clay, because there are 40–60 different varieties of clay-bearing soils and clays, and they all react differently. Silt and soil have an advantage in that they can absorb the polymer chains in the particles like a sponge and attach much better.
For maximum water resistance, Enviroseal’s mainstay is pure acrylic. “It’s known for being excellent at making the soil waterproof,” says Stevens. “It’s also UV-resistant, so the sun’s rays pass through the acrylic without degradation. Then we have styrene acrylics, and they’re very good at waterproofing, but not as good at UV protection. However, they are available in higher concentrations, so you get a more concentrated product. We also have vinyl acrylic-based product. Vinyls typically degrade underwater or UV exposure, but they’re more of an inexpensive temporary solution. It depends on the customers’ needs—a tailings pile of a mine in Chile might use a vinyl product and you get good coverage that lasts three to six months, whereas an airport gets one application using the high-quality product that lasts four to five years.”
All Enviroseal polymers can be pigmented to increase serviceable lifespan and provide aesthetic appeal. Typical pigmentation colors are green and black, but other colors are available. We mentioned earlier that there’s an art to managing a stabilization project, but with pigmentation colors, a project can also be artistic. For example, M10+50 was applied to a section of Costa Verde, a hillside in Lima, Peru, to prevent the dislodging of material from rain and seismic activities. “We applied green because it was called Costa Verde, which means green coast,” Stevens recalls, “and the city was very happy with it.”
The effects of erosion from rain have inspired a number of “natural” solutions that have materials to control soil runoff. For example, Terra Novo Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, offers EarthGuard Fiber Matrix, a technology that combines EarthGuard and fiber to form a matrix that provides extended erosion control protection in severe situations. EarthGuard utilizes an extremely high molecular weight blend of chemistry to provide superior charge density and soil stabilizing ability. It works with soil to maintain stability by preserving existing soil structure and flocculating fine sediment dislodged by stormwater or wind.
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“The fiber matrix method started as blankets installed manually, and then progressed to a bonded fiber matrix system,” says Tyler Palmer, of Terra Novo. “We take it one step further with a product that has a matrix of mulch and EarthGuard all together. So we actually control the soil rather than covering it with a blanket. These products don’t need a totally smooth surface. They fill in crevices and wrap around rocks, trees, and the soil. The mulch absorbs water as soon as rain hits, so it’s activated immediately. EarthGuard comes in two forms: the original liquid emulsion that accommodates the addition of regional mulch such as paper or wood, and also a prepackaged product with 100% wood fiber.”
For dust control, Terra Novo makes DustControl DG, an acrylic polymer emulsion. “It really binds everything together,” explains Palmer. “It’s not an erosion control product because it actually glues everything together. It can be used at very low rates for capping areas for dust control without traffic, but heavier applications can be used for roads and parking lots.
There’s something of an art to managing a heavily used mining or oil drilling access road, according to Andy Stevens, vice president with Enviroseal Corp. in Port St. Lucie, FL. “A lot of times we put gravel on the surface of the soil to keep the polymers from prematurely breaking down,” Stevens says. “Each job has different mechanics, such as soil and weather. A mining haul road is one of the toughest challenges. It has to do with the soil, because rocks and aggregates and soil break down and dislodge under heavy forces such as hundred-ton trucks running every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day.”
For such severe circumstances, Enviroseal offers M10+50, an all-acrylic, redispersible liquid soil stabilizer, designed to improve the performance of soils. Benefits associated with acrylics include improvements in adhesion, abrasion resistance, flexural strength, and exterior durability. It can blend directly with aggregate, soil, and other formulation aids to form a “one-pack” system, to reduce environmental waste (used containers) and lower shipping and packaging costs. Enviroseal makes four grades of polymers for soil stabilization, erosion, and dust control. But how do you know which grade is right for your situation?
In general, a soil analysis can help. Stevens notes that a sandy soil will use product differently than a silky soil, and clay will also have a different reaction. Moreover, it can depend on the type of clay, because there are 40–60 different varieties of clay-bearing soils and clays, and they all react differently. Silt and soil have an advantage in that they can absorb the polymer chains in the particles like a sponge and attach much better.
For maximum water resistance, Enviroseal’s mainstay is pure acrylic. “It’s known for being excellent at making the soil waterproof,” says Stevens. “It’s also UV-resistant, so the sun’s rays pass through the acrylic without degradation. Then we have styrene acrylics, and they’re very good at waterproofing, but not as good at UV protection. However, they are available in higher concentrations, so you get a more concentrated product. We also have vinyl acrylic-based product. Vinyls typically degrade underwater or UV exposure, but they’re more of an inexpensive temporary solution. It depends on the customers’ needs—a tailings pile of a mine in Chile might use a vinyl product and you get good coverage that lasts three to six months, whereas an airport gets one application using the high-quality product that lasts four to five years.”
All Enviroseal polymers can be pigmented to increase serviceable lifespan and provide aesthetic appeal. Typical pigmentation colors are green and black, but other colors are available. We mentioned earlier that there’s an art to managing a stabilization project, but with pigmentation colors, a project can also be artistic. For example, M10+50 was applied to a section of Costa Verde, a hillside in Lima, Peru, to prevent the dislodging of material from rain and seismic activities. “We applied green because it was called Costa Verde, which means green coast,” Stevens recalls, “and the city was very happy with it.”
The effects of erosion from rain have inspired a number of “natural” solutions that have materials to control soil runoff. For example, Terra Novo Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, offers EarthGuard Fiber Matrix, a technology that combines EarthGuard and fiber to form a matrix that provides extended erosion control protection in severe situations. EarthGuard utilizes an extremely high molecular weight blend of chemistry to provide superior charge density and soil stabilizing ability. It works with soil to maintain stability by preserving existing soil structure and flocculating fine sediment dislodged by stormwater or wind.
Whether you’re working on roads or deep in a mine; dust control is important in the health of the workers, surrounding communities, and neighboring vegetation. Choosing the proper dust control product depends on the needs of the site, the soil, and weather. In this article, author Ed Ritchie examines several dust control products and their specific applications.
Thanks to the boom in fracking, oil and gas companies are using dust control products for long, unpaved roads travelled by heavy equipment vehicles. Jason R. Ramsey sees a lot of these roads in his role as vice president of business development for RAMCO Environmental LLC in Little Rock, AK. “PennzSuppress is very versatile and doesn’t migrate during a rain event,” says Ramsey. “It repels water so the rain will shear off to the sides into the ditch line. It doesn’t wash away, so there’s no risk of it getting into the water table or streams and rivers.”
[text_ad]
There’s something of an art to managing a heavily used mining or oil drilling access road, according to Andy Stevens, vice president with Enviroseal Corp. in Port St. Lucie, FL. “A lot of times we put gravel on the surface of the soil to keep the polymers from prematurely breaking down,” Stevens says. “Each job has different mechanics, such as soil and weather. A mining haul road is one of the toughest challenges. It has to do with the soil, because rocks and aggregates and soil break down and dislodge under heavy forces such as hundred-ton trucks running every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day.”
For such severe circumstances, Enviroseal offers M10+50, an all-acrylic, redispersible liquid soil stabilizer, designed to improve the performance of soils. Benefits associated with acrylics include improvements in adhesion, abrasion resistance, flexural strength, and exterior durability. It can blend directly with aggregate, soil, and other formulation aids to form a “one-pack” system, to reduce environmental waste (used containers) and lower shipping and packaging costs. Enviroseal makes four grades of polymers for soil stabilization, erosion, and dust control. But how do you know which grade is right for your situation?
In general, a soil analysis can help. Stevens notes that a sandy soil will use product differently than a silky soil, and clay will also have a different reaction. Moreover, it can depend on the type of clay, because there are 40–60 different varieties of clay-bearing soils and clays, and they all react differently. Silt and soil have an advantage in that they can absorb the polymer chains in the particles like a sponge and attach much better.
For maximum water resistance, Enviroseal’s mainstay is pure acrylic. “It’s known for being excellent at making the soil waterproof,” says Stevens. “It’s also UV-resistant, so the sun’s rays pass through the acrylic without degradation. Then we have styrene acrylics, and they’re very good at waterproofing, but not as good at UV protection. However, they are available in higher concentrations, so you get a more concentrated product. We also have vinyl acrylic-based product. Vinyls typically degrade underwater or UV exposure, but they’re more of an inexpensive temporary solution. It depends on the customers’ needs—a tailings pile of a mine in Chile might use a vinyl product and you get good coverage that lasts three to six months, whereas an airport gets one application using the high-quality product that lasts four to five years.”
All Enviroseal polymers can be pigmented to increase serviceable lifespan and provide aesthetic appeal. Typical pigmentation colors are green and black, but other colors are available. We mentioned earlier that there’s an art to managing a stabilization project, but with pigmentation colors, a project can also be artistic. For example, M10+50 was applied to a section of Costa Verde, a hillside in Lima, Peru, to prevent the dislodging of material from rain and seismic activities. “We applied green because it was called Costa Verde, which means green coast,” Stevens recalls, “and the city was very happy with it.”
The effects of erosion from rain have inspired a number of “natural” solutions that have materials to control soil runoff. For example, Terra Novo Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, offers EarthGuard Fiber Matrix, a technology that combines EarthGuard and fiber to form a matrix that provides extended erosion control protection in severe situations. EarthGuard utilizes an extremely high molecular weight blend of chemistry to provide superior charge density and soil stabilizing ability. It works with soil to maintain stability by preserving existing soil structure and flocculating fine sediment dislodged by stormwater or wind.
[text_ad]
“The fiber matrix method started as blankets installed manually, and then progressed to a bonded fiber matrix system,” says Tyler Palmer, of Terra Novo. “We take it one step further with a product that has a matrix of mulch and EarthGuard all together. So we actually control the soil rather than covering it with a blanket. These products don’t need a totally smooth surface. They fill in crevices and wrap around rocks, trees, and the soil. The mulch absorbs water as soon as rain hits, so it’s activated immediately. EarthGuard comes in two forms: the original liquid emulsion that accommodates the addition of regional mulch such as paper or wood, and also a prepackaged product with 100% wood fiber.”
For dust control, Terra Novo makes DustControl DG, an acrylic polymer emulsion. “It really binds everything together,” explains Palmer. “It’s not an erosion control product because it actually glues everything together. It can be used at very low rates for capping areas for dust control without traffic, but heavier applications can be used for roads and parking lots.
“The fiber matrix method started as blankets installed manually, and then progressed to a bonded fiber matrix system,” says Tyler Palmer, of Terra Novo. “We take it one step further with a product that has a matrix of mulch and EarthGuard all together. So we actually control the soil rather than covering it with a blanket. These products don’t need a totally smooth surface. They fill in crevices and wrap around rocks, trees, and the soil. The mulch absorbs water as soon as rain hits, so it’s activated immediately. EarthGuard comes in two forms: the original liquid emulsion that accommodates the addition of regional mulch such as paper or wood, and also a prepackaged product with 100% wood fiber.”
For dust control, Terra Novo makes DustControl DG, an acrylic polymer emulsion. “It really binds everything together,” explains Palmer. “It’s not an erosion control product because it actually glues everything together. It can be used at very low rates for capping areas for dust control without traffic, but heavier applications can be used for roads and parking lots.
