Maintaining roads and alleviating traffic are commonly known issues in the oil patch area of western North Dakota. The dust that goes along with the traffic is bad for visibility and can be harmful to air quality.
At the 2012 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck May 22, Francis Schwindt presented on a dust control strategies study under way in Dunn and McKenzie counties in North Dakota. Schwindt is the principal investigator in the research funded by the counties and the ND Oil and Gas Research program. The research program is part of the ND Oil and Gas Division and the ND Industrial Commission.
Last week, eight different products were placed on one-half mile test segments in each county to analyze their effectiveness. The content of the products ranges from magnesium chloride to a petroleum emulsion.
The study will wrap up this winter. “We’re hoping to find something practical, that can be used by the counties and won’t cost an arm and a leg,” Schwindt says.
Schwindt talks about the study in the video.
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