CA1114281A
Expired / Lapsed
CA
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Suppression of respirable dust
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1978-10-10
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Granted: 1981-12-15
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Expires: 1998-10-10
Abstract
Abstract ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention suppresses dust, and particularly respirable dust, by preventing the dust from becoming airborne at locations where it could escape from the dusty material with which it is associated, for example, at transfer points and other locations where the respirable dust can be released into the surrounding atmosphere. Foam, having bubbles small enough to be broken by respirable dust particles, is brought in con-tact with the respirable dust where small bubbles, small enough to be bursted by respirable dust particles, are imploded and the bubbles wet the dust particles and cause adherence of the particles to adjacent surfaces, such as other foam or other parts of the dusty material. The foam may be discharged into dusty material at transfer points where the dusty material falls by gravity and thereby opens up spaces between portions of the material which are at zero gravity as a result of their free fall.
Inventors
- 👤 Howard W. Cole, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
CA
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 08:21
CPC Classifications
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Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
232 words
Apparatus for preventing respirable dust particles from becoming airborne in coal mines and at other locations where respirable dust particles may escape from broken dusty material in motion comprising means for supplying foam to the dusty material including in combmation a foamer, means for forcing a mixutre of air, water and surfactant through the foamer, under high pressure and at high velocity to form a foam in which bubbles discharged from the foamer are small and of a size of .015 inch and smaller, means for moving the material and causing relative motion of the respirable dust and other pieces of the material, means for discharging the foam into contact with the moving ma-terial and into any clearance between pieces of said material, so that any respirable dust in the material that might otherwise escape from said broken material and become airborne, while the material is moving, contacts with and implodes a small bubble and become wetted thereby, and the capacity of the means for supplying the foam to the dusty material being correlated with the means for moving the material to supply foam in sufficient quantity to maintain small bubbles of the foam at locations where respirable dust could otherwise escape from the dusty material and into the atmosphers, whereby the particles of respirable dust contact with the outsides of said small bubbles and are wetted and adhered to adjacent material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
232 words
Apparatus for preventing respirable dust particles from becoming airborne in coal mines and at other locations where respirable dust particles may escape from broken dusty material in motion comprising means for supplying foam to the dusty material including in combmation a foamer, means for forcing a mixutre of air, water and surfactant through the foamer, under high pressure and at high velocity to form a foam in which bubbles discharged from the foamer are small and of a size of .015 inch and smaller, means for moving the material and causing relative motion of the respirable dust and other pieces of the material, means for discharging the foam into contact with the moving ma-terial and into any clearance between pieces of said material, so that any respirable dust in the material that might otherwise escape from said broken material and become airborne, while the material is moving, contacts with and implodes a small bubble and become wetted thereby, and the capacity of the means for supplying the foam to the dusty material being correlated with the means for moving the material to supply foam in sufficient quantity to maintain small bubbles of the foam at locations where respirable dust could otherwise escape from the dusty material and into the atmosphers, whereby the particles of respirable dust contact with the outsides of said small bubbles and are wetted and adhered to adjacent material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
98 words
The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the means for moving the material including a part where the material is in a mass, that the foam cannot penetrate, and in-cluding also a support to which the moving material is de-livered at a lower level than said part so that the material separates as a result of the acceleration of gravity as the material falls to said lower support, the acceleration of gravity causing separation of pieces of the material and open-ing up of the clearances between pieces to expose the dust in the clearances to the foam.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus described in claim 2 characterized by the means for moving the material being a conveyor from the end of which the dusty material drops to said support, said support being at a lower level than the conveyor, and foam discharge nozzles in position to discharge foam at locations where the clearances are opened up by the dropping of the dusty material from the conveyor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
102 words
The apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the conveyor being at a higher level and clear of the material on the support to provide free fall of the dusty material from the conveyor to the support, and foam nozzles at different loca-tions around the falling material where the free fall leaves the material and dust at zero gravity during the fall where respirable dust would float. from the falling mass into the sur-rounding atmosphere, the foam being discharged into the falling mass so as to fully penetrate clearances in the mass and prevent respirable dust in the material from becoming airborne.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
91 words
The apparatus described in claim 2 characterized by the conveyor being a coal mine conveyor that carries lumps of coal and dust including respirable dust along with and on the lumps of coal, the means for supplying the foam being a plural-ity of nozzles that discharge the foam into clearance between the falling lumps from different sides thereof, the foamer and nozzles being of sufficient capacity to supply sufficient total foam to the broken dusty material to leave some foam on the mass of material when said material reaches the support.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
200 words
The method of preventing respirable dust from becoming airborne, which method comprises: a) forcing a mixture of air, water and surfactant through a foamer having tortuous passages and under high pres-sure and high velocity to form a foam in which bubbles dis-charged from the foamer are small and of a size of .015 inch and smaller; b) bringing the foam promptly, while most of the small-bubbles persist as such, into contact with dusty material containing respirable size dust particles within the size range of 1 to 200 microns; c) causing relative movement of the foam and dusty material and by such relative movement causing the respirable dust particles and small bubbles to contact one another at a location at which the small bubbles persist; d) wetting the respirable dust particles at said location by implosion of the small bubbles with which said respirable dust particles come in contact; e) supplying enough of said small bubble foam to wet substantially all, or any selected portion of, the re-spirable dust; and f) providing material at said location adjacent to the implosion of the small bubbles by the respirable dust par-ticles and to which adjacent material the wetted respirable dust particles attach themselves.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
200 words
The method of preventing respirable dust from becoming airborne, which method comprises: a) forcing a mixture of air, water and surfactant through a foamer having tortuous passages and under high pres-sure and high velocity to form a foam in which bubbles dis-charged from the foamer are small and of a size of .015 inch and smaller; b) bringing the foam promptly, while most of the small-bubbles persist as such, into contact with dusty material containing respirable size dust particles within the size range of 1 to 200 microns; c) causing relative movement of the foam and dusty material and by such relative movement causing the respirable dust particles and small bubbles to contact one another at a location at which the small bubbles persist; d) wetting the respirable dust particles at said location by implosion of the small bubbles with which said respirable dust particles come in contact; e) supplying enough of said small bubble foam to wet substantially all, or any selected portion of, the re-spirable dust; and f) providing material at said location adjacent to the implosion of the small bubbles by the respirable dust par-ticles and to which adjacent material the wetted respirable dust particles attach themselves.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of suppressing respirable dust as described in claim 6 characterized by advancing the material with which the foam has been brought in contact, and bringing other dusty material into position for contact with additional foam containing the small bubbles at said location.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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