(421e) The Design and Uses of a Dust Tower

Dust has the potential to be a serious and widespread problem. Dust emissions are thus controlled using methods such as dust suppression. However, no standard tests have been available for the evaluation of dust suppressant effectiveness. Here we show the design and operation of a dust tower, how it was used to evaluate dust suppressants under controlled conditions, and how it was used to measure inherent material dustiness. The tower been successfully applied in studies of dust suppressants for iron ore pellets, and to determine pelletizing variables that significantly influence iron ore pellet dustiness. Future work with the tower is planned in the arena of dust suppressants for metallurgical coal.