There are many ingredients in NeSilex’s unique formula. Each component has a specific purpose in quickly targeting, encapsulating, and suppressing respirable silica dust. But how does it work? How can a few quarts of NeSilex mixed in hundreds of gallons of water do so much? It all starts with energy!
The lower the surface energy of the water, the more effective it will be at targeting and suppressing silica dust. To adequately encapsulate a dust particle, the surface energy of the water must be less than that of the particle. Water has a surface energy level of 72, while silica dust has a surface energy level of 60. Since water’s surface energy is higher than silica’s, it cannot properly saturate silica particles, which hinders its ability to suppress the dust.
NeSilex lowers the surface energy of water droplets, which is one important aspect of enhancing its ability to suppress dust. It only takes one gallon of NeSilex mixed in 1,000 gallons of water to lower the surface energy level to 31. In other words, at a dilution rate of 1000:1, NeSilex cuts water’s surface energy by more than half, transforming it into an effective suppressant for silica dust.
Water is a common dust suppressant in both construction and general industry. It may seem as though water is a great dust suppressant using a visual test; however, when it comes to respirable silica dust, water alone is not effective and can lead to deadly results. Taking a closer look at surface energy helps uncover part of the reason water alone is not sufficient, but there are other factors to take into consideration. The size of respirable particles, the droplet size of water, chemical charges, and hydrophobicity also play an important role.
