Dust suppression system for roads in rural Costa Rica

[Covalence]

Hello folks,

Can you guys recommend a method/technology/company that offers a VERY economical solution to road dust? This is still the developing world and civil works are greatly underfunded. The rural areas do not pull the votes to merit investment in the eyes of the politicians. We have a major issue with road dust here. It's been bad in this very dry rainy season, so the upcoming dry season will be worse. Spraying molasses water from the sugar cane mills won't do the trick.

The roads are essentially dirt roads with quite a bit of jagged rock. If you ask questions, I will do my best to provide more details. They vary in roughness. The more traveled roads are generally flatter and in better shape, but they kick up tons of dust which stays airborne and invades any crevice.

Your help is appreciated in mitigating this issue for the community until the roads are paved (20+ years in the making).

Thank you, Ed

 

[LincolnPE]

Magnesium chloride is used typically here. See this link:

http://gmcocorp.iarbiz.com/pWgXlrX6oiA=?gclid=CL2r94n96ccCFZJgfgodhMYOQg

 

[oldestguy]

Ordinary sodium chloride has been used for years for dust control. It has an affinity for water and that moisture holds the dust. It even has been used as a stabilizing agent when mixed in to gravel roads. The salt spreaders (fitted in dump truck bodies) used in the states for ice and snow treatment should do the job there also. Of course there are truck bodies especially made for this purpose.,

If there are any paper mill industries you can come up with, the waste liquor from them has been used at times in the states.

 

[racookpe1978]

Won't the salt run off from the roads begin killing the nearby soils? It is not as much perhaps as the irrigation water problem, but any added salt will still hurt most irrigated areas.

Oil spray was the common solution, but that is now both uneconomical (oil too high a price) and politically unwise.

 

[LincolnPE]

Magnesium Chloride is used throughout the Rocky Mountain region for both dust abatement and as a highly effective de-icer in winter. Many of the road systems run parallel to the stream/river systems.

 

[Covalence]

Thanks for the help so far. Because there is lush vegetation and animal habitat, as well as landscaped properties with ornamental and fruit-providing trees and plants, anything that would degrade soil fertility is concerning. Would mag chloride definitely have this deleterious effect? Also, if containerized and shipped dry, it can simply be mixed and diluted in water and then sprayed?

 

[oldestguy]

Salt used in Wisconsin for ice control has minimal, if any, effect on roadside vegetation. That's at the shoulders. None in nearby fields per my observations. The amount used here annually for snow and ice (most roads are paved) is many times what would be needed for dust control. In my observations of dust control of gravel using salt, I have seen no effect on the adjacent areas. The main effect that I have noticed is the slightly increased chloride content of well water for those wells adjacent to heavily salted main roads. In my city of 10,000 where all municipal water comes from ground water wells, the reports of water quality show no noticeable effect. Most streets get salted in winter. For dust control only one dose per year would seem likely. Usually such control is done mainly near inhabited areas. With the annual rainfall being high, dilution of run-off would occur. Once applied, either road grading or traffic mixes it in. I've seen gravel base course stabilized with salt that has required no special treatment after several years and all still working great.

 

[Covalence]

Thanks for the insight oldestguy. Seems like a pretty clear win. Anyone have feedback on the international transport of solid Mag Chloride and later diluting it in water? Is there a target concentration? I'm sure google can yield answers, but I trust those with hands on experience the most. Gracias!

 

[miningman]

There is a waste product from the apple orchards in British Columbia that be worth investigation. It is completely environmentally friendly since it is derived from apples....... it is sold commercially in bales , just like peat moss bales. I have used it underground altho not for dust control. It might be effective on its own or as a supplement to other treatments.