Published in September 2006 Australian Longwall Magazine
PetroTac is a spray-applied emulsion that stabilises unsealed road surfaces and works by saturating, penetrating and bonding dust and aggregate particles together, creating a hard, durable surface and superior load-bearing qualities.
APS (Australian PetroTac Services) Dust Control Solutions’ dust suppressant has been applied at Oaky North for two years using the original applicator the mine purchased in 2004.
“We have been applying PetroTac here at Oaky Creek Coal for two years and the product has been a huge success as our underground dust suppressant,” Oaky North operations manager Heath Hannigan said.
Hannigan said the dust suppression system provided an effective and environmentally-friendly method of dust control with the added benefits of haul road stabilisation, smoother travel roads, a more stabilised road to aid tyre life, reduction in haul road maintenance and extreme reductions in water consumption used for dust suppression.
APS manager Anthony Stewart said a wide variety of materials have been trialled by various companies in an effort to control dust.
“Water, salts, oil-based emulsions, petroleum resins, lignosulfonates and other chemical suppressants all provide limited effectiveness and present their own set of problems,” he said.
Stewart said water-based solutions can be effective in the short term, however when the moisture dries it leaves the soil more fragile, thus compounding the problem by creating more dust and increasing water consumption.
Oil-based emulsions continually percolate and leach through the soil, never binding with road aggregate particles to stabilise the surface, Stewart said.
Furthermore, salts and hygroscopic products can be seriously undermined by heavy rains and contribute to machine corrosion.
“Some dust control alternatives appear to cost very little in the short run. However, a ‘cheap’ solution can cost a lot more in the long run, that’s why it is so important to evaluate all the costs associated with any dust control program.”
Since it was first introduced into the market in 1998, Stewart said PetroTac has proven its effectiveness under a variety of climatic conditions and at a broad range of mining and heavy industry operations.
PetroTac is applied with water but quickly cures to a water-resistant surface, which means treated surfaces are not washed out or destabilised by rain or rain water run-off.
In the underground mining environment, PetroTac improves soil stabilisation to ensure the roadways can accommodate the heavy equipment and machinery and enhances safety and visibility on roads by minimising fugitive dust emissions.
Because no two sites or situations are identical, Stewart says APS develops individual solutions for each PetroTac customer, starting with a detailed analysis of the operation.
APS also provides onsite training in the application of the PetroTac dust suppressant and for the use of spraying equipment.
