## 1 Introduction  
Dust suppressants effectively mitigate particulate matter emissions from exposed mine soils by changing the physical properties of soil surfaces [1]. Their effectiveness and durability are decisively impacted by environmental factors such as precipitation, radiation or the presence of microorganisms. For example, heavy rainfall can significantly impair the performance of ligninsulfonates, which are widely applied as non-traditional dust suppressants, due to their water solubility [2]. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation causes photo-oxidation of polymer-based reagents, where polymer chains cleave into smaller segments, resulting in deterioration of the mechanical properties [3]. Biogenic amendments (e.g., biopolymers or molasses), in turn, can be naturally decomposed by microorganisms. Carbohydrates and proteins are recognized as food sources and are split into oligomers, dimers, and monomers by microorganisms' intra- and extracellular enzymes [4]. Hence, field trials are imperative to evaluate the actual performance of dust suppressants and to enable an appropriate product selection for applications at mine and mineral processing sites. A variety of field studies (e.g., [5, 6, 7]) have examined the effectiveness of dust suppressants on heavily trafficked surfaces such as unpaved roads. However, there is a lack of experimental research investigating the effects of amendments on reducing wind-blown dust emissions from exposed mine soils under field conditions [8]. Currently applied and investigated dust suppressants (e.g., electrochemical products, magnesium chloride, ligninsulfonates, biopolymers) have limitations and disadvantages, such as high product prices, detrimental effects on the environment, insolubility in cold water, or yielding viscous solutions at low concentrations [9, 10, 11, 12]. Food processing wastes and by-products may pose sustainable alternatives to established dust suppressants. They are usually inexpensive, readily available and generated in high volumes [13, 14, 15]. Moreover, many of these materials are biodegradable and contain carbohydrates and proteins, which provide techno-functional properties to bind single soil particles [14]. A study has recently shown that wastes and by-products from the food industry can enhance the unconfined compressive strength of soils, which indicates an improved wind erosion resistance and thus an enhanced dust control effectiveness [16]. [PERSON] et al. [16] concluded that among the biomaterials studied, chicory vinasses, corn steep liquor, decantation syrup, and palatinose molasses have the highest potential to be applied as dust suppressants. In a follow-up study, [PERSON] et al. [17] conducted laboratory-based wind tunnel tests and demonstrated that these biomaterials could indeed effectively mitigate wind-induced soil losses. Even though these results are promising for the actual application of wastes and by-products from the food industry as dust suppressants on mine soils, the study did not consider abiotic (e.g., radiation, water) and biotic factors (e.g., bacteria), which may diminish the effectiveness of reagents to reduce dust emissions [5]. Rainfall, in particular, may be a controlling factor on the amendments' effectiveness because water-soluble reagents can be leached from the surfaces of treated soils and substrates. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of four biodegradable by-products from the food industry (chicory vinasses, corn steep liquor, decantation syrup, and palatinose molasses) in reducing dust emissions from mine soils. The effectiveness of dust suppression from soils is defined herein as the degree to which by-products from the food industry successfully reduce wind erosion from a selected sandy mine soil as measured with and without dust control. Laboratory experiments were performed to study the effects of rainfall intensities and wetting-drying cycles on the wind erosion resistance of treated soil surfaces.