Investigating the Performance of Biopolymers in Dust Control on Forest Roads Using Wind Tunnel Simulation

Background and Objective: Forest roads, which are often unpaved, are subject to dust generation when vehicles travel. This dust can cause various problems, including health hazards for workers, damage to equipment, and environmental concerns. Dust control technologies are very important in reducing these problems in forestry operations. Road dust control includes various methods to minimize the amount of dust produced and suspended in the air, especially on unpaved roads. These methods can be broadly categorized as reducing dust production, preventing its suspension in the air, or absorbing and removing dust. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of biopolymers on dust control on Arab-Dagh forest roads in Golestan province.
Methodology: For this purpose, a wind tunnel device with a contact surface of 60 × 38 cm was used. On the untouched samples of the forest road surface of the region that were randomly selected, xanthan, guar and beta-glucan biopolymers were sprayed with weight percentages of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 or 5% separately according to the contact surface of the wind tunnel. In the next step, by installing and operating the wind tunnel device on the sample, the road surface was exposed to winds with speeds of 8 and 10 meters per second. The duration of the wind effect on all parts was considered the same and equal to 2 minutes. Then, the wind sediments collected inside plastic silicones were collected and weighed with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. The experiments were carried out as a factorial in the form of completely randomized blocks. The main treatment included the type of biopolymer in three levels and the amount of polymers in four levels and wind speed as a block in two levels. Three replicates were considered for each speed (total of 24 treatments and 72 wind-sediment samples). Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS software, normality of data was checked using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, mean comparison was performed using the LSD test, and correlation analysis was performed using the Pearson test.
Results: The results of the mean comparison test showed that all three biopolymer treatments were able to significantly reduce the amount of dust produced from plots located in the wind tunnel compared to the control treatment. So that the amount of dust production in the plots treated with beta-glucan, guar, and xanthan was 8.27, 7.23, and 7.78 g m-2, respectively, and in the control treatment was 11.58 g/m2. Also, with increasing biopolymer concentration, the amount of dust decreased significantly, and the slope of this decrease was greater in the treatment with a concentration of 5% than in the other treatments. As the wind speed increased from 8 m s-1 to 10 m s-1, the amount of dust produced by the plots in the wind tunnel increased significantly from 7.85 g m-2 to 9 g m-2. The studies showed that the highest amount of dust reduction was achieved in the guar treatment with a concentration of 5%. In this treatment, 76.5 and 66.3 percent reductions in the amount of dust produced by the plots in the wind tunnel were reported at wind speeds of 8 and 10 m/s, respectively. In all biopolymer treatments, the highest amount of dust produced by the plots in the wind tunnel was recorded at a concentration of 0.5 percent.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, the use of high concentrations of biopolymer in the form of spray with a tractor-mounted field sprayer allows for the effective use of anti-dust materials on a large scale. The experimental results provide evidence that the application of biopolymer sprays can effectively reduce dust emissions on forest roads and even mines in the short term. Therefore, the tested biopolymers are a promising biological and environmentally friendly alternative for dust control.