New separation technique of metal/polymer granular materials using an electrostatic sorting device

摘要

Electric curtain consisting of a series of parallel electrodes and powered by a polyphase voltage has been extensively used for transporting and/or separating micronized insulating particles. The aim of this work is to investigate a new electrostatic sorting device (ESD) similar to an inter-digitated electrode configuration for the separation of millimeter-size metal/plastic particles, based on the electro-adhesive force applied on the metal granules. The granular mixture is deposited on a dielectric cylinder covered by two-phase inter-digitated electrodes and rotating at a controlled speed. An experimental analysis was carried out to analyze the influence of various factors on the performance of this new separator. The obtained results showed that the new separator makes it possible to obtain high-purity products; its performance depends on several factors such as the level of the applied voltage, the signal frequency and the rotation speed of the drum.