Comparative study of three high-voltage electrode configurations for the electrostatic separation of aluminum,copper and PVC from granular WEEE

Roll-type electrostatic separators are mostly employed for the selective sorting of conductive and non-conductive constituents of granular mixtures. In case of waste electric and electronic equipment, several conductive materials may be simultaneously present in the composition of the granular mixture to be separated. The aim of this paper is to prove the feasibility of processing an Aluminum/Copper/PVC mixture using a roll-type electrostatic separator. Three high-voltage electrode configurations were studied. Experiments prove that the association of a high-voltage S-shaped plate electrode with a corona wire electrode gives the best separation results. The electric forces pin the corona-charged PVC particles to the roll electrode, while the lighter aluminum and heavier copper particles are diverted to the high-voltage electrode. The aluminum contained in the copper product can be removed by a second pass in a separator that makes use only of the S-shaped electrode. In this way, 75% of the aluminum particles and 99.97% of the PVC particles can be removed, to obtain a 98% pure copper product.     

Effect of spark discharges on the trajectories of insulating particles in roll-type corona-electrostatic separators. Experimental and numerical study

Corona-electrostatic separation is a multi-variable process that has been thoroughly studied in connection with its various applications in the recycling industry. The aim of the present paper is to point out one parasitic phenomenon that adversely affects the efficiency of the separation: the sparks generated at the passage of conductive particles through the electric field zone. The experiments were carried out on a laboratory roll-type corona electrostatic separators, and the sparks were generated by introducing 16 calibrated copper pins in 40-g samples of granular insulating material (PVC; typical granule size: 1.5 mm) that were fed at a constant rate onto the surface of the grounded rotating roll electrode. The distribution of the PVC granules in the 14 boxes of the collector was altered by the occurrence of the spark discharges, as they were accompanied by the annealing of the electric field between the electrodes. The numerical simulation of insulating granules charging and movement under the action of the electric field enabled a better understanding of the interactions between the spark discharges and the other factors that influence their trajectories and affect the efficiency of the separation: roll-speed, particle size and ambient humidity. The particle dynamics equations were solved using an iterative scheme by using the electric field calculated in any point with the commercial software TRICOMP. The good agreement between the predictions made by these simulations and the experimental findings confirms the ability of the mathematical model to reflect the complexity of the physical phenomena.     

Development of electrostatic paper separation and feed mechanism

A new paper separation and feed mechanism is proposed to realize a highly reliable paper handling system for printers and copiers. The paper-separation system consisted of a pair of parallel electrodes and a paper pile between the electrodes. Electrostatic separation of a piece of paper was possible from the top of the pile when the applied voltage exceeded the threshold needed to generate an electrostatic force larger than the weight of the paper. The threshold voltage was on the order of several kilovolts, and it agreed with the numerical value calculated using the finite element method (FEM) for the electrostatic field. Based on these basic investigations, a prototype mechanism for paper separation and feeding was constructed. It consisted of a roller-type separation electrode coated with an insulating film, a biased charger roller in contact with the separation roller to charge the insulating film on the separation roller, a ground electrode, and a paper pile situated between the electrodes. When an electrostatic field was applied between the biased charger roller and the ground electrode on which the paper pile was mounted, only the top sheet of paper separated, adhering electrostatically to the roller. The sheet was then fed rotating the separation roller. Using this system, reliable paper separation and feed was realized and a feed speed over 600 mm/s was demonstrated.     

Particle dynamics simulations of triboelectric charging in granular insulator systems

Particle dynamics simulations are carried out to study triboelectric charging in granular systems composed of a single insulating material. The simulations implement a model in which electrons trapped in localized high energy states can be transferred during collisions to low energy states in the other particle. It is shown that this effect alone can generate electrostatic charging in the system, and cause net electron transfer from larger particles to smaller particles. The magnitude of charging is small for systems of a single particle size but becomes much greater for a system with polydispersal particle sizes, due to the net electron transfer from larger to smaller particles. The negative charge of smaller particles, and positive charge of larger particles has been observed in field studies and laboratory experiments of granular systems.     

Electrostatic force acting on conductive ball between electrodes

To advance electrostatic applications such as novel printing technologies and solder ball control for LSI bumping, the electrostatic force acting on a conductive ball between two electrodes is calculated. The electrostatic force increases as the ratio of the ball diameter to the electrode separation increases. The electrostatic force is also calculated for the case when a charge pattern is formed on the insulating layer on the upper electrode. In this case, the electrostatic force initially varies as the square of the charge pattern area but eventually plateaus to a constant value as the area increases. Experiments investigating the force acting on the ball are performed. The force estimated from these experiments agrees with the value obtained by electric field analysis.     

Triboelectrification of granular insulating materials as affected by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatment

The aim of this paper is to point out the influence of dielectric barrier discharge treatment on tribocharging of granular insulating materials. Particles of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polypropylene (PP) were subjected to an AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment in ambient airprior to tribocharging in a vibratory device. The charge to mass ratio was measured for treated and untreated materials. Electrostatic separation of a mixture of granular materials (PVC and PP) to measure the effectiveness of DBD treatment was evaluated by processing treated and untreated PVC/PP granular mixtures in a free-fall electrostatic separator. The obtained results clearly indicate that DBD has the capability to influence surface charging proprieties of polymer granular materials. In case of short treatment time, typically less than 3 s, a marked increase in the charge to mass ratios was observed for both PVC (about 35%) and PP (roughly 45%). In the same way, the quantity of DBD-treated materials, recovered after electrostatic separation, was increased by about 104% and 30% for PVC and PP, respectively, as compared to untreated case. The DBD treatment time is a key factor to increase the tribo electric effect.     

Experimental study of a modified dual-type high-voltage electrode for electrostatic separation applications

Several electrode arrangements have been proposed to enhance the efficiency of insulating materials charging by corona discharge. Recent studies pointed out that the presence of metal strips in the proximity of a dual-type high voltage electrode increases the total current measured at the surface of the collecting electrode, decreases the corona onset voltage value and enlarges the reparation of current density as well. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the benefits of using such an electrode arrangement for corona charging of non-conductive particulate materials in belt-type corona-electrostatic separators. The experimental study was carried out with samples of Aluminum and Polystyrene particles in the size class 125–250 μm. The presence of grounded strips reduces the electric wind, which is associated to corona discharge but not tolerated in such processes that involve micronized materials. At the same time, it improves the corona charging conditions of non-conductive materials and as consequence the overall efficiency of the corona-electrostatic separation process. The use of the new electrode configuration is characterized by both high recovery rates and better purities of the separated products.     

Corona charging of granular layers of insulating particles at the surface of a grounded electrode

The aim of the present paper is to introduce a simple experimental technique for estimating the corona charging conditions of insulating granules that form a layer at the surface of the grounded electrode of roll-type electrostatic separators. The basic idea consists in measuring the potential at any point on the surface of this layer by means of an electrostatic probe. The capacity of the probe–layer system being constant, the measured potential is proportional to the charge. The results clearly show that the charges imparted to the particles in the corona discharge depend on their positions at the surface of the electrode and on the inter-electrode spacing. This observation could be of use, for instance, to particle charging simulations performed as a preliminary step of any feasibility study of new electrostatic separation applications.     

Discrete element modeling of triboelectric charging of insulating materials in vibrated granular beds

The triboelectric charging of granular insulating materials is very difficult to predict because of the complex physical mechanism involved in this process. The aim of this paper is to describe in detail the implementation of a numerical model of the tribocharging process taking place in vertically-vibrated beds of granular plastics. The charge exchanged in granule-to-granule and granule-to-wall collisions is computed by taking into account some electrical properties of the respective materials, their area of contact and the effect of the electric field generated by a system of high-voltage electrodes and by the charges of the granules themselves. The electrical model is coupled with the Discrete Element Method (DEM) which undertakes the whole granular dynamics and allows to compute accurately the contact surface of two colliding particles which is involved in the triboelectric charging model.Beside the numerical simulations an experiment has been conducted with mixtures of mm-size polyamide and polycarbonate granules in a laboratory vibrated bed to validate the model. The numerical results have been found to be in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Effect of particle size distribution on the polarity of triboelectric charging in granular insulator systems

Triboelectric charging occurs in granular insulating systems even when all particles are composed of identical material. A simple model is used here to address triboelectric charging in such systems. The basis of the model is the existence of electrons trapped in high-energy states, which can be released during collisions with another particle and transferred to the other particle. This model shows that triboelectric charging in insulator systems composed of particles of identical material can be attributed to a distribution of particle sizes, such that smaller particles tend to charge negatively and larger particles tend to charge positively. This polarity of charging has been observed in field studies of sand storms, dust devils and volcanic plumes, and most laboratory experiments on triboelectric charging in granular systems.     

Effect of particle size on the tribo-aero-electrostatic separation of plastics

Numerous research studies have been made on the electrostatic separation of granular insulating materials, with many industrial applications in the area of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling. However, very few investigators have studied the separation of finely-ground matter (i.e., granule diameter < 1 mm), in relation with applications in mineral processing, or in food industry. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of particle size on the selective sorting of fine particles in a two-rotating-disks-type tribo-aero-electrostatic separator. The experiments are carried out on a synthetic mixture composed of 50% Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and 50% Polystyrene (PS) particles of size 250 to 2000 microns. The performance of this separator is evaluated by setting up a measurement system that enables the continuous and simultaneous recording of the charges and the masses of the separated products. The conclusions of this study will serve at the optimum design of an industrial electrostatic separator for the recycling of micronized plastics from WEEE.     

Corona-discharge-based neutralization of charged granular insulating materials in contact with an electrode of opposite polarity

Charge neutralization is a key operation in many electrostatic processes. A wide-range of charge neutralizers have already been developed for various applications: eliminate shock and ignition hazards, avoid electrostatic discharges that might affect the operation of electronic equipment, reduce electrostatic adhesion forces that might stick granular materials in pneumatic conveyors, and so on. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate several methods of charge neutralization for charged granular insulating materials spread on an electrode energized from a voltage source of opposite polarity, a situation encountered – for instance – in two-metallic-belt tribo-aero-electrostatic separators, and which is not covered by commercially-available solutions. Three corona-discharge-based charge neutralization systems are studied: (i) DC-biased AC voltage applied to a corona dual-type electrode; (ii) DC-biased AC voltage applied to a triode-type electrode system; (iii) DC voltage applied to a corona dual-type electrode. The charged samples of polycarbonate granules are obtained at the outlet of a tribo-aero-electrostatic separator. The electric charge per mass ratio of each sample is measured before and after neutralization. The third of the above-mentioned charge neutralization solutions seems to be the most effective solution, but it requires an appropriate adjustment of the DC voltage applied to the corona dual-type electrode.     

Numerical simulation of a tribo-aero-electrostatic separation of a ternary plastic granular mixture

Granular materials, when fluidized by air or other gaseous medium, acquire electrostatic charge by particle-particle and particle-wall collisions. The effectiveness of particle tribocharging achieved with such fluidization process is crucial for establishing the feasibility of electrostatic separation of mixed granular solid wastes in the recycling industry. The aim of the present work is to introduce a simple mathematical model for simulating the outcome of a novel tribo-aero-electrostatic separation process involving mixture of three granular materials. The process is characterized by the fact that the charging of the granules is produced in a fluidized bed device, in the presence of an electric field. The mathematical model in this case assumed that the probability of a granule to be separated can be expressed using the normal distribution law, as a function of the number of impacts with granules belonging to the other classes of materials. The effect of the presence of a third species of particles was taken into account. Thus, it was possible to calculate the evolution over time of the mass of granules separated at the electrodes for different compositions of the granular mixture. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experiments.     

Numerical simulation of particle size effects on contact electrification in granular systems

Based on the contact charge transfer model between two particles due to a single collision proposed by Apodaca, the contact charges carried on a particle is derived due to multiple collisions, including the repeat collisions between two particles and the collisions with different particles, in mixed-size granular system of identical material. The effect of the particle size on the charges carried on the particle is simulated. The results indicate that for a mixed-size granular system, due to multiple collisions among particles, there exists a threshold particle radius, the particles with radius higher than which and the particles with radius lower than which carry opposite charges. The threshold particle radius is equal to mean value of particle size in the mixed-size granular system. Basically, the polarity of the charges carried on the largest particle is same as the polarity of the transfer charge carrier, and in case of the positive charge transferred, the largest particle will be positively charged and the smallest particle will be negatively charged, and vice versa. In the same size region, the more dispersive the particle size is, the more the net charges can be produced. In normal-distributed granular system, the magnitude of contact charge is determined mainly by the particle size distribution, size region, total particle number and the relative impact velocity.     

Comparison between three measurement methods for characterizing the charge state of granular insulating materials

Surface potential decay method has been frequently used to characterize the charge state of insulating materials. The present paper aims at a critical evaluation of this method when used for the characterization of granular plastics, by comparing it with the electric field monitoring by means of non-contact vibrating probes, and with the measurement of the charge induced in a capacitive probe connected to a Coulomb-meter. The experiments were performed on corona-charged polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyamide, and acetyl – butadiene – styrene granular materials. The experimental results show that surface potential decays faster than the electric field or the charge measured with the capacitive probe. The dimensions of the probes and the capacitive coupling between them and the samples, may explain this difference. Part of the potential decay measured by the smaller-size probe of the electrostatic voltmeter is due to the surface conduction, while the measurements made with the larger-size electric field and capacitive probes are less affected by this phenomenon.     

水平滚筒内二元颗粒体系径向分离模式的数值模拟研究

发展了考虑法向接触力、切向接触力和力矩、以及滚动摩擦力矩的三维三方程线性弹性-阻尼离散单元模型及计算程序，对薄滚筒内二元S型颗粒体系进行了数值模拟，发现采用本文的数学模型可以准确地预测出滚筒内二元S型颗粒流的分层现象.分析了影响滚筒内颗粒分层的因素，讨论了滚筒转速、颗粒装载率等参数对分层的影响，当转速较高时，滚筒内形成大颗粒在外、小颗粒在内、具有圆形界面的月亮模式，当转速较低时形成具有波浪形界面的花瓣模式，并且随着滚筒转速的逐渐降低，花瓣的数量逐渐增加，数值模拟结果与实验完全符合.模拟还得到了花瓣模式的形     

水平滚筒内二元颗粒体系径向分离模式的数值模拟研究

发展了考虑法向接触力、切向接触力和力矩、以及滚动摩擦力矩的三维三方程线性弹性-阻尼离散单元模型及计算程序,对薄滚筒内二元S型颗粒体系进行了数值模拟,发现采用本文的数学模型可以准确地预测出滚筒内二元S型颗粒流的分层现象.分析了影响滚筒内颗粒分层的因素,讨论了滚筒转速、颗粒装载率等参数对分层的影响,当转速较高时,滚筒内形成大颗粒在外、小颗粒在内、具有圆形界面的月亮模式,当转速较低时形成具有波浪形界面的花瓣模式,并且随着滚筒转速的逐渐降低,花瓣的数量逐渐增加,数值模拟结果与实验完全符合.模拟还得到了花瓣模式的形 关键词： 分层 滚筒 模式形成 离散单元方法     

线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力理论与实验研究

空气电晕放电离子风激励器无需旋转部件, 仅通过消耗电能就能直接产生驱动力, 它是一种新型的动力技术, 备受国内外航空航天界的广泛关注. 目前对空气电晕放电离子风激励器的推力产生机理虽有各种解释, 但是现有理论均不能统一各种条件下的实验结果, 仍需要开展进一步的分析与研究. 本文以线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器为研究对象, 通过实验研究发现作用在线电极与铝箔电极上的静电力不对称, 而且改变铝箔电极纵向高度和气压均能影响激励器的推力大小; 通过理论分析, 考虑电晕层与空间电荷的影响, 建立了线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力计算模型, 其计算值与实测值比较一致. 基于上述实验现象与理论建模分析, 本文认为线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力主要来源于线电极电晕产生的空间电荷对电极系统产生了不对称静电力作用, 使激励器出现净静电力作用.     

Event-driven simulations of insulating grains in an external electric field

In this work we employ event-driven particle dynamics simulations for a system of spherical insulating grains interacting with an external electric field. This system resembles the electrostatic particle separation present on some industrial processes. Here, the particles collide inelastically with each other and with the container walls, for a constant normal and tangential restitution coefficients. During the collisions, the grains can acquire electric charge due to triboelectric contact charging, since two different species of insulating particles are mixed. Particle-particle electric interactions are not considered. Grains are also subjected to the gravitational field and rotation, and are confined in a cubic box with thermal walls in order to prevent the static equilibrium state. We calculate the mass and charge density profile, and the particle charge distribution for different values of the electric field and temperature of the walls. The particle charge distribution and the effect of particle sizes on the separation process were also investigated.     

Acoustical properties of double porosity granular materials

Granular materials have been conventionally used for acoustic treatment due to their sound absorptive and sound insulating properties. An emerging field is the study of the acoustical properties of multiscale porous materials. An example of these is a granular material in which the particles are porous. In this paper, analytical and hybrid analytical-numerical models describing the acoustical properties of these materials are introduced. Image processing techniques have been employed to estimate characteristic dimensions of the materials. The model predictions are compared with measurements on expanded perlite and activated carbon showing satisfactory agreement. It is concluded that a double porosity granular material exhibits greater low-frequency sound absorption at reduced weight compared to a solid-grain granular material with similar mesoscopic characteristics.