Synergistically enhanced foam dust suppressant based on Polyvinyl alcohol acetal crosslinking and hydrogen bond adsorption

To address the issue of coal dust in mining production, a novel foam dust-suppression material was developed in this study by leveraging the synergistic effect of glutaraldehyde (GA)-induced polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) self-crosslinking and the hydrogen-bond association network formed with sodium lignosulfonate (LS). The results show that the acetal reaction can consume the hydroxyl group on PVA and enhance water resistance of the polymer. The “stiff-tough balance” interpenetrating network with GA as the bridge improves the mechanical properties of the material, the average surface hardness is as high as 78 HA, and the dust suppression efficiency of 10 min wind erosion and rain resistance test is more than 96 %. The anionic nature of aliphatic alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sodium sulfate (AES) synergizes with the sulfonic acid groups of LS, which significantly improves the wettability and foam properties. This study will provide a practical and feasible new scheme for the application of PVA in foam dust suppression.