The Application of the Foam Technology to the Dust Control for Reducing the Dust Injury of Coal Mines

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors presented a very interesting topic on the foam application in dust control in coal mining.   The manuscript needs to be carefully reviewed by English proof-reading. There are many incomplete sentences and long sentences which take time for reviewers and are hard to read and understand for the audience. The suggestion given below is mostly given from technical aspects.   

1.     Is the manuscript a research article or review paper? What is the goal/objective of the manuscript?

2.     From the Introduction Section, the authors cited some previous studies, however, it seems those studies were carried out long time back. Are there any recent studies in Dust Control using Foam Technology? What is the current development status in other countries other than in China? The introduction on literature review should be updated and enriched.

3.     It is undisputed that the foam technology has significantly reduced the dust concentration and respirable mineral dust concentration, as shown by the data from various sites. However, as an international reputed journal, scientific findings or conclusion should be one of criteria for publication, while the manuscript lacks scientific explanation or discussion behind these phenomena.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

First of all, thank you for your review and comments on my paper and it's my pleasure.

Secondly, I have revised it in accordance with the suggestions mentioned, see the red part of the manuscript or the following explanation for details.

(1) The manuscript a research article, and its goal is to reduce the mine dust density during mining and excavating, improve the production conditions and working environment, effectively reduce the probability of pneumoconiosis occupational disease and protect the health of miners.

(2) All references have been updated. In addition to the "1 Introduction" section, the "2 Foam Dust Reduction Technology" section also describes the relevant research on foam dust suppression or reduction technology at home and abroad.

(3) In terms of language, it is being polished by a professional service company. However, due to time urgency, I uploaded the technology and other revised content first. Once the language polishing is completed, I will immediately apply for uploading an update.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude once again.

 

All authors as follows: Ming Ji, Zhongguang Sun, Hongjun Guo*

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Reviewer Comments

Paper title: Application of Foam Technology for Dust Control for Reducing the Dust Injury of Coal Mines

 

The present manuscript describes results of site tests conducted in fully mechanized mining and excavation working faces in Zhangcun, Shanjiaoshu and Jinjia coal mines. The dust removal effect reaches 59.5% in Zhangcun coal mine.

A manuscript has a practical application and also provides important theoretical for the next studies.

The paper can be accepted for publication after providing the corrections mentioned below.

 

Point 1. The abstract section sounds unclear. The abstract should follow the MDPI style of structured abstracts:

- Background (place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study);

- Methods (describe briefly the main methods);

- Results (summarize the article's main findings);

- Conclusion (indicate the main conclusions or interpretations).

 

Point 2. Keywords need to be modified. Please use words not combinations of words or phrases.

 

Point 3. In the Introduction section, an enhanced literature review is required. For this study, the authors have used only 8 literature sources. It seems insufficient for such type of research.

 

Point 4. Dust is a problem not only in China. You should provide a review of the problem of dust in broad format using worldwide research results.

 

Point 5. It will be great if the authors show some description in context – Why it is important to conduct this study? Can the expected result be used or implemented within other coal basins? If yes, then how? What limitations?

 

Point 6. The aim and the tasks must be highlighted at the end of the Introduction section.

 

Point 7. Can you provide a map of China and show the coal mines as the object of research?

 

Point 8. Please provide a short description of further research.

 

Point 9. The novelty of the paper is unclear. You should highlight it in the conclusions section.

 

Point 10. Please consider the suggested research in your paper when enhancing the literature review (an enhanced review of the publications of non-China authors only are more than welcome):

 

1). Zavialova, O., Kostenko, V., Liashok, N., Grygorian, M., Kostenko, T., & Pokaliuk, V. (2021). Theoretical basis for the formation of damaging factors during the coal aerosol explosion. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 15(4), 130-138. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining15.04.130

Important issue:

Paid your attention to Figure 1. The main factors determining the energy in the fire front are the masses of coal dust and methane contained in the section of the mine working, but the process of their oxidation is limited by the oxygen content in this volume.

 

2). Shahani, N.M., Sajid, M.J., Zheng, X., Jiskani, I.M., Brohi, M.A., Ali, M., Ullah, B., & Qureshi, A.R. (2019). Fault tree analysis and prevention strategies for gas explosion in underground coal mines of Pakistan. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 13(4), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining13.04.121

Important issues:

To prevent the development of ignitable coal haze, rock or pulverized particles of limestone, it is recommended to spray above the “coal dust” generated in the course of mining in mine accesses to develop an inert dust combination.

Findings of this research indicate that major root causes are related to gas explosion. Moreover, to prevent such gas explosion (methane gas and coal dust explosions) accidents, various approaches could be employed.

 

3). Kobylianskyi, B., & Mуkhalchenko, H. (2020). Improvement of safety management system at the mining enterprises of Ukraine. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 14(2), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining14.02.034

Important issue:

The mines of Ukraine are among the most dangerous in the world, due to difficult mining-and-geological and temperature conditions. Two-thirds of Ukrainian mines are of “excess-category” in methane content, a third – in coal dust content.

 

 

Point 11. In general, I must admit that a very good study was performed, and I will recommend your paper for publication after careful revision.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

 

First of all, thank you for your review and comments on my paper and it's my pleasure.

Secondly, I have revised it in accordance with the suggestions mentioned, see the blue part of the manuscript or the following explanation for details.

(1) All references have been updated. In addition to the "1 Introduction" section, the "2 Foam Dust Reduction Technology" section also describes the relevant research on foam dust suppression or reduction technology at home and abroad.

(2) From a global perspective, foreign mines are dominated by open-pit mining, while China is more dominated by underground mining. Due to the limited underground space, the impact of mine dust on the working environment and the physical and mental health of workers is more serious. Naturally, China has more in this area, especially in recent years, foreign research in this area has become less and less.

(3) In terms of language, it has been polished by a professional service company.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude once again.

 

All authors as follows: Ming Ji, Zhongguang Sun, Hongjun Guo*

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

 

Please provide a step-by-step response to the reviewer's comments. Also, I  ask you not to ignore the important issue of enhancing the literature review (an enhanced review of the publications of non-China authors only is necessary). I suppose I have provided a good example of the paper where important issues are raised.

The science (including mining science) is not round around China only! 

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

First of all, thank you for your review and comments on my paper and it's my pleasure.

Secondly, I have revised it in accordance with the suggestions mentioned, see the manuscript or the following explanation for details.

(1) The abstract has been revised according to the MDPI style of structured abstracts: background, methods, results, and conclusion.

(2) The keywords have been revised.

(3)(4)(10) In the introduction, the description of foreign research related to mine is added.

(5) At the end of section 1.2, the reasons for the significance of this research are given, and the future research focus and application prospect of foam dust reduction technology are described before the conclusion.

(6) The aim and the tasks have been highlighted at the end of the Introduction section (the section 1.2).

(7) A map of China has been provided in 3. Application section, and the coal mine has been marked and displayed in the map, see Figure 3 for details.

(8) The further research needs to focus on cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, providing possibilities in mine dust control for more coal mines. These contents are shown at the end of 3. Application section (i.e. before the conclusion).

(9) The research characteristics of the paper are emphasized at the beginning of the conclusion. Using foam to cover the dust source can prevent the mine dust from changing into floating state and realize effective dust suppression and reduction, which is different from the method or technology that takes floating state mine dust as the research object.

(11) Thanks for the affirmation of the research results, our team will continue to work hard in this field.

(12) In terms of language, it has been polished by a professional service company.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude once again.

All authors as follows: Ming Ji, Zhongguang Sun, Hongjun Guo*

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 3

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

I am more than satisfied with the corrections provided by you.

This study is an important contribution to sustainable mining.

 

Congratulations to the authors.