Effect of Particles’ Electric Charge on the Separation Process Using an Electro-Adhesion Actuator

The electrostatic adhesion technique has recently been used with success in the electrostatic separation of granular metal/polymer (Copper/PVC) materials. However, it is not known if the pre-charging of particular materials is advantageous as with conventional separation methods. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of the initial electric charge on the separation results using an electrostatic adhesion actuator installed on a vibrating inclined plane. The separator performances are evaluated by setting up a measurement system allowing the simultaneous recording of the charge and mass of the particles. The experimental methodology used consists in studying the effect of the dielectric barrier of the electrostatic adhesion actuator, the tribo-charging of copper/PVC particles, and the angle of inclination of the actuator on the final charge of the materials. Results show that charge signs are in good agreement with the tribo-electric series. In addition, the influence of the initial material charge on the purity and recovery rates has been shown to be very weak. Consequently, it is unnecessary to pre-charge the particular mixture before using the electro-adhesion separation technique.