DAS Bio

An eco-friendly dust control product with less bitumen binders

In response to the ever-increasing supply costs and scarcity of bitumen, Dust-A-Side has developed a cost-effective and sustainable dust control product called DAS Bio. The formulation won an award for product innovation at the Electra Mining Africa trade show in 2022. It is suitable for controlling and managing dust on community roads, mine access roads as well as haul roads. 

DAS Bio contains a specialized blend of emulsified lignosulfonate and a reduced percentage of bitumen binders. It is designed to be used as an alternative to other products with higher concentrations of bitumen binders such as DAS Product without sacrificing on the quality and performance of haul roads. DAS Bio is an all-weather product and performs well on a wide variety of wearing courses including clayey material.

What is lignosulphonate?

Lignosulphonates are by-products from sulphite paper and timber making processes in which sulfonated lignin, a polymer built up of phenyl propane subunits, is dispersed in an aqueous solution. The binding properties of lignin are enhanced by the addition of sugars which helps bind surface road and dust particles together. Water evaporates from the lignosulphonate as it dries and the dust particles are trapped by the high-viscosity, naturally sticky material.

The manufacturing of lignosulphonate involves evaporation and this evaporation process drives off any volatile contaminants such as acetic acid. As a result, lignosulphonate based dust control products have very low toxicity towards plants, low order of toxicity towards fish and present no risk of contaminating groundwater. In fact, lignin is natural enough to be used as a binder product in animal feed.

The non-hazardous features and abundant supply of lignosulphonate make for an excellent dust control solution for mine roads.

How is DAS Bio applied to haul roads?

For permanent roads which are being newly established, DAS Bio can be incorporated into the wearing course layer of the road.  This happens via a scarifying, spraying, mixing and rolling process. This provides excellent dust control and sealing properties for the road

In order to suppress dust on more temporary road surfaces, DAS Bio can instead be applied via a series of light dilution spraying using a water cart. Once applied, the need for reapplication is minimal. Mines which typically rely on continuously spraying untreated water on haul road networks in order to control dust will dramatically reduce water usage and water cart hours by switching to DAS Bio. 

DAS Bio is conveniently delivered in a concentrated liquid form ready to use. It is typically diluted in a water cart at a concentration of 2.5% right up to 50% depending on the specific requirement.

What are the environmental and cost benefits of using DAS Bio? 

• Operational dust reductions
• Roads can be trafficked immediately after application
• Promotes aquatic plant growth due to non-toxic, non-hazardous and biodegradable formula 
• Reduced sediment run-off and surface erosion
• Substantial water savings compared to road surface watering
• Ability to perform at freezing temperatures below zero
• Safer operations due to improved visibility and reduction in wear outs 
• Operational cost savings and efficiencies 
• Lower surface maintenance costs 
• Presence of bitumen results in reduced leaching during rain falls and haul roads remains integrated after application

Download a safety data sheet