sprinkling of sea water to supress the dust

[DAA]

Good day!

I need  expert opnion on water sprinkling to supress the dust in coastal area(in coal/fertiliser yards, roads etc.). Is sea water can be used for purpose?, if no, then what can be the  likely problems?so, what is prefferably, sea water or fresh water?to supress the dust , that may be raised due to handling of bulk materials in mass, in areas of roads, yards, approaches etc. Technical justification is required in line with prevelant Env.laws/Rules.

thanks in advance..

[Sonal Gadhave]

I don't think it would help much, it might lead to infertility of soil on which the spraying is done using sea water.. and we don't have enough fresh water to use , it will be better if you stop the pollution at the source itself by implanting different air pollution controlling equipment.

[DAA]

Thanks, bu i do not think that any other techniques will help to supress the fugitive dust emission.Point source emission can be controlled thorugh many techniques.Anyoneelse to advise on it...

[MANIPRAKASH ARAVELLI]

In my opinion, the spraying of sea water will also lead to artificial salt spray. In coastal area, anyway the natural salt spray is there, this process will be aggravating that much more. Since, the salt water is associated with corrosive activity, enough care need to be taken for combating this problem. Otherwise, we have to think of desalinating unit and then spraying the water etc.,

[PRAKASH CHANDRA JHA]

Why use water, when other options such as industrial vacuum cleaners, better house keeping, avoiding spillage of materials and deployment of dust extraction system, wind shield, green belt etc  at appropriate places can be used for controlling dust.

[Amlan Dutta]

What we in our port are doing is using a Mechanized Container Truck for dry cleaning on all approach roads, stack yards etc. Water sprinkling is being done by fresh water. Sea water sprinkling will change the characteristics of coal in addition to requiring proper management of the run off as it will change soil characteristics of the soil. We are also trying out chemical suppression from GrowMore for dust suppression in our coal stackyards. We also have a major fire problem in our Thermal Coal Stacks. Do you also face the same problem.

I will be delighted to share notes with you on your experiences in your work site.

Yours Sincerely,

Amlan

[Alice Lakra]

Not an expert opinion... as a lay(wo)man I guess, unless you are able to think of using some low cost technique for treating sea water at-source before spraying, following dangers might crop up:-

 

1. Deposition of salt layer/ film on structures (e.g. tar roads might get covered by sediments/layer(s) of salt depositions if continued over long period. Might look like snow! Could be tried if planning to harvest salt. Dust may be replaced by salt, so when the coastal winds blow, instead of dust, we'd have salt.    

 

2. Soil salination - over time, this spraying might alter the salt salinity, hence the pH. This might drastically change the ground water quality, soil fertility and so on and could enhance soil erosion in the long run.

 

3. Corrosion - Salt is hygroscopic in nature and it attracts the water. Water is required for corrosion and salt speeds up the process. Metals get rusted more quickly near the beaches or salty places hence an additional supply might only contribute further, unless we plan to make building pickles.

 

4. Although moderate salt in fertilizers is beneficial, a higher concentration might change the very character of fertilizers. If fertilizers with higher salt content is used on plants/ seedlings, it may cause salt injury to the plants/seedlings. Hence, not safe. Strictly a no-no if the fertilizer yards are manufacturing organic fertilizers / vermicomposts etc.   

 

5. We all know salt water is a good conductor of electricity. So, in case of lightening in these areas, presence of salt and water (from spray or rain) may be a hazard especially for people who might be walking barefeet. Although it might depend on a lot of other variables too.

 

In all, I reckon using sea water would be highly economic for the firm but this is exactly what has led us into various environmental problems. If choosing between sea water or fresh water, I understand that fresh water would be a eco-friendly choice. Using fresh water may look tempting and cheap if the resources (rivers/ canals) are closeby. But if you have to harvest the ground water, be careful. And then, best would be if you are able to treat used water and then sprinkle treated water. If I were you, I'd look at my options at treating sea-water at source or treating used water and then go about it. Am sure you can look out for water treatment companies in india who can best fit your requirements and budget.

 

 

  

 

[Sudipto Ghosh]

Mr. Dutta, it looks that you are in Bhubaneswar. Please let me know about which port you are talking - Paradeep or Dhamra.

As you have mentioned fire in Coal stack is a problem and we are into monitoring those through thermal imaging and physical inspection to reduce chances of fire and damage of goods.

You can contact me on 7504229608 as presently I am also stationed at Bhubaneswar.

Warm regards

Sudipto Ghosh

Amlan Dutta said:

What we in our port are doing is using a Mechanized Container Truck for dry cleaning on all approach roads, stack yards etc. Water sprinkling is being done by fresh water. Sea water sprinkling will change the characteristics of coal in addition to requiring proper management of the run off as it will change soil characteristics of the soil. We are also trying out chemical suppression from GrowMore for dust suppression in our coal stackyards. We also have a major fire problem in our Thermal Coal Stacks. Do you also face the same problem.

I will be delighted to share notes with you on your experiences in your work site.

Yours Sincerely,

Amlan

[Seema Kumari]

You can use sea water for sprinkling on roads but the major problem which comes is of corrosion of the vehicle which is used as sprinkler. apart from that due to high salinity it can change the soil quality but i think this is not a problem in your situation because you are not going to use that area for furthur plantation or agricultural purpose. Even pollution control board people recommends that. you will have to work on your requirement and then comes the applicability of CRZ and water cess as you are exploiting the natural resource.

[Seema Kumari]

As far as yard is concerned, heavy salinity can change the chemical characteristics of coal/lignite and apart from that due to increase in moisture content, operational problem will also arise.

I would be highly delighted to share your work experience at site.

 

Seema

[ganesan viswanathan]

In absence of fresh Water OR otherwise ,It is a best option Only problem would be Drainage generated during rains from this area would be contains high concentration of chloride etc which need to be handled carefully.Otherwise result to increase in TDS IN ground Water.Likely increase in humidity is also other issue

[R JENA]

It is really an innovative idea , should think about the cost economics part . There is already practice of adding hygroscopic salts to  water sprinkling facilities such as tanker sprinklers for binding dusts for long time in the dust ladden "murroom" haulroads in mining areas . As water sprinkling is done to control fugitive dust on such haulage roads only , so in that portion  of haulage road, I think, fertility wont be much affected. This can be solved by erecting small bunds along sides of road to arrest flow from road and dredging of the upper layer of road after testing the chloride content .

Sonal Gadhave said:

I don't think it would help much, it might lead to infertility of soil on which the spraying is done using sea water.. and we don't have enough fresh water to use , it will be better if you stop the pollution at the source itself by implanting different air pollution controlling equipment.

[DAA]

Hello,

Am facing the same problems, how is ambient air quality in your port?would like to know more about chemical supression, that you are talikng about for coal yard?is it effective?i think that fugitive dust control is more diffuclt to manage than point source emission? Rgds..
 
Amlan Dutta said:

What we in our port are doing is using a Mechanized Container Truck for dry cleaning on all approach roads, stack yards etc. Water sprinkling is being done by fresh water. Sea water sprinkling will change the characteristics of coal in addition to requiring proper management of the run off as it will change soil characteristics of the soil. We are also trying out chemical suppression from GrowMore for dust suppression in our coal stackyards. We also have a major fire problem in our Thermal Coal Stacks. Do you also face the same problem.

I will be delighted to share notes with you on your experiences in your work site.

Yours Sincerely,

Amlan