Dust Suppression with Glycerin from Biodiesel Production: A Review

An increasing number of countries and areas in the world suffer from either natural or anthropogenic dust, which results in a serious hazard with respect to the environment and to personal health and safety. This paper reviews and summarizes open literature involving the use of glycerin in dust control applications. Glycerin, a by-product from biodiesel manufacturing, has been evaluated for dust suppressant performance when applied alone as aqueous solutions, or in combinations with surfactants, polymers, or other chemicals. There are reports indicating that glycerin is effective in some dust suppression applications, although details about its use and performance metrics are generally lacking. Recent growth of the biodiesel industry has significantly increased the supply of crude glycerin, making it an economically attractive material for use in dust suppression. This paper also highlights several environmental accidents caused by irresponsible discharges of crude glycerin, and points out the need to understand environmental consequences of glycerin and its impurities when used in dust suppression applications.