Updated December 2, 2016:
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Project Title: Polymers Derived from Biodiesel Waste for Road Dust Control
Principal Investigator: James A. Bahr, North Dakota State University

Road dust is a common problem in the rural United States as well as industrial sites such as mining areas and can lead to health issues to those living and working in these dusty environments. At the same time, the growing biodiesel industry is faced with an excess of crude glycerin that is expensive to purify and/or dispose of. This research explored the possibility of combining soy biodiesel with inexpensive crude glycerin (from biodiesel waste) in order to synthesize a non-toxic, biodegradable and non-corrosive dust suppressant material that is dispersible in water for application onto gravel roads as a “drop-in” replacement for chloride based dust control agents.

Funding from the ND Soybean Council allowed us to successfully develop a soy based dust control agent that was shown to perform as well as magnesium chloride in laboratory testing. This effort required the optimization of the chemical synthesis metrics, the development of lab scale testing methods and the determination of effective application rates that are required for its use on roadways. Our results indicate that this soy-based material can be dispersed in water and applied to gravel surfaces using standard application equipment at rates comparable to chloride brines. It is also noncorrosive, biodegradable and performs well in dry conditions. Furthermore, this material has been shown to be water stable and resists being washed away in the rain. Finally, lab results indicate that it forms cross-linked networks that bind the dust particles together to minimize fugitive road dust and reduce the loss of fine particles from the gravel. Fine particle retention is important to the longevity of a road bed and will reduce the road maintenance costs associated with periodic re-gravelling and grading operations.

Magnesium and calcium chloride brines are the most commonly used dust suppressant materials due to the fact that they are relatively inexpensive and easy to apply. The main problems with these salts however is that they are highly corrosive to vehicles and road infrastructure. Also, they tend to perform poorly in very dry conditions when they are needed most and can be washed away from the road surface due to rainfall. Our goal was to overcome these problems while adding additional benefits.

The market in the US for dust control is quite large with over 1.3 million miles of unpaved roads and over $400 million spent annually on the application of dust treatments. The development of a dust control product derived from soy biodiesel waste should create a new market for the biodiesel industry. As a result, revenue generated from this new market should decrease the overall cost of biodiesel production through the utilization of its glycerin waste stream. Since biodiesel and/or soybean oil are also used to make this soy based road dust suppressant, a new market for soy biodiesel and/or soybean oil will be created through the manufacture and use of this product.