Bulk material cover compositions and methods of applying

1. A method of providing a cover to a bulk material pile, the method comprising:

providing a bulk material cover composition free of foaming agent comprising:

at least about 50 weight percent water,

about 1 to about 50 weight percent of at least one of cement and fly ash,

at least some fiber,

at least some cellulosic water dispersible polymer, and

at least some acid;

applying the composition onto the bulk material pile; and

allowing the composition to harden to provide a cover to at least a portion of the bulk material pile,

wherein the acid is present in an amount sufficient to maintain the pH of the cover composition between about 1.0 and about 6.0.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition is formed by mixing, with at least water and at least one of cement and fly ash, a dry mixture consisting essentially of:

about 70 to about 80 weight percent cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

about 15 to about 30 weight percent fiber; and

about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent acid.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the dry mixture consists essentially of:

about 73 to about 77 weight percent cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

about 20 to about 24 weight percent fiber; and

about 0.5 to about 3.0 weight percent acid.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition is formed by mixing, with at least water and at least one of cement and fly ash, a dry mixture consisting essentially of:

about 35 to about 40 pounds of cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

about 7.5 to about 15 pounds of fiber; and

about 1 ounce to about 2.5 pounds of acid,

wherein the mixture consists of about 70 to about 80 weight percent of the cellulosic water dispersible polymer, about 15 to about 30 weight percent of the fiber, and about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent acid.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition is formed by mixing, with at least water and at least one of cement and fly ash, a dry mixture consisting essentially of:

about 36 to about 39 pounds of cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

about 10 to about 12 pounds of fiber; and

about 3 ounces to about 1.5 pounds of acid,

wherein the mixture consists of about 73 to about 77 weight percent of the cellulosic water dispersible polymer, about 20 to about 24 weight percent of the fiber, and about 0.5 to about 3.0 weight percent acid.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition comprises about 65 to about 85 weight percent water.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition comprises about 8 to about 35 weight percent of at least one of cement and fly ash.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acid is present in an amount sufficient to maintain the pH of the cover composition between about 3.0 and about 4.0.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acid comprises at least one of citric acid and acetic acid.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cover composition comprises about 0.01 to about 0.05 weight percent acid.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cover composition further comprises a coloring agent.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least some fiber comprises synthetic fiber.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the synthetic fiber comprises at least some polyester fiber.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cover composition comprises about 0.1 to about 0.6 weight percent fiber.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic water dispersible polymer comprises at least one of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) treated water dispersible polymer and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) treated water dispersible polymer.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least some cellulosic water dispersible polymer comprises about 0.1 to about 10 weight percent polymer.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least some cellulosic water dispersible polymer comprises about 0.2 to about 2 weight percent polymer.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk material cover composition consists essentially of:

about 50 to about 90 weight percent water;

about 2 to about 40 weight percent of at least one of cement and fly ash;

about 0.1 to about 0.6 weight percent fiber;

about 0.2 to about 5 weight percent cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

sufficient acid to maintain the pH of the solution between about 1.0 and about 6.0; and

optionally about 0.1 to about 1 percent coloring agent.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the bulk material cover composition consists essentially of:

about 65 to about 85 weight percent water;

about 5 to about 35 weight percent of at least one of cement and fly ash;

about 0.3 to about 0.4 weight percent fiber;

about 0.2 to about 2 weight percent cellulosic water dispersible polymer;

sufficient acid to maintain the pH of the solution between about 3.0 and about 4.0; and

optionally about 0.2 to about 0.5 percent coloring agent.

20. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the bulk material cover composition consists essentially of:

about 65 to about 85 weight percent water;

about 5 to about 35 weight percent of at least one of cement and fly ash;

about 0.3 to about 0.4 weight percent polyester fiber;

about 0.2 to about 2 weight percent of water dispersible polymer, wherein said water dispersible polymer comprises at least one of HPMC-treated water dispersible polymer and HEC-treated water dispersible polymer;

sufficient acid to maintain the pH of the solution between about 3.0 and about 4.0, wherein said acid comprises at least one of citric acid and acetic acid; and

optionally about 0.2 to about 0.5 percent coloring agent.

21. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cover composition has a thickness that is about ⅛ inch to about ½ inch.