Environmentally Friendly Polymer Materials to Mitigate Particulate Matter Pollutions
Author
Lee, TaeheeIssue Date
2021Keywords
Dust controlDust suppressant
Liquid amphiphilic polymer
Methyl cellulose
Particulate matter
Polymer blend
Advisor
Kim, Minkyu
Metadata
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The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Embargo
Release after 07/30/2022Abstract
Dust suppressants and air filters are representative dust control methods for active and passive practices, respectively. To improve technical limitations of both methods, environmentally friendly liquid polymers and methylcellulose (MC)-based binders were investigated by evaluating their abilities for dust control and discussed in Appendices A-C. At first, liquid amphiphilic polymer (LAP) was used for developing a new conceptual dust suppressant to mitigate tailings dust. The LAP can keep the particles in moist conditions like water and hold them via amphiphilic interactions, leading to approximately 90% greater dust suppression than water alone while extending the application periods. Second, MC-based polymers were investigated as natural binders for active and passive practices. As a dust suppressant, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) suppressed PM emissions from soil and tailings dust sources more effectively than the other polymers. As well as, the HPMC-treated filter showed 99% filtration efficiency while maintaining similar airflow resistance to the non-treated filter. Lastly, polymer blend (PB) was developed by combining LAP and HPMC to mitigate hydrophobic coal dust. As a dust suppressant, PB presented great potential by wetting hydrophobic dust particles and binding them together, leading to significant hydrophobic dust suppression. Also, the PB treated filter showed great filtration efficiency against hydrophobic dust. To summarize, this dissertation identified environmentally friendly, sustainable, and degradable polymer materials by assessing LAP (Appendix A), HPMC (Appendix B), and PB (Appendix C), and the results demonstrated the polymer materials are essential to pave a new avenue for advanced dust control technology.Type
textElectronic Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.Degree Level
doctoralDegree Program
Graduate CollegeMaterials Science and Engineering