Material optimization of microbial dust suppressant nutrient solution based on response surface curve

In this study, bacterial urease activity was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), based on carbon source, nitrogen source, inorganic salt, pH, and other conditions required for bacterial growth. This resulted in improvement of coal dust suppression ability of bacterial mineralization. RSM showed that when the concentration of sucrose, sodium chloride, and yeast extract was optimized to 8.99, 11.27, and 8.83 g·L−1, respectively, bacterial urease activity increased by 2.60 times compared to its original activity. Microscopic scanning indicated that the optimized dust suppressant showed larger mineral size (~40 μm diameter). X-ray diffraction results showed that contained calcite and vaterite crystals exhibited larger size (639 and 454 Å) and higher crystallinity (90.30 and 94.96%). The dust suppression effect test results indicated that the sample's wind resistance was 8.88% higher than that before optimization. This study indicates that material optimization of microbial dust suppressants contributes significantly to the field of dust suppression. [Display omitted] •Using RSM to optimize microbial coal dust inhibitor and improves urease activity.•Nutrient composition has influence on the CaCO3 crystal of crystallinity and size.•The optimized dust suppressant improves the wind resistance of coal dust.