Insulating conveyor-belt-type electrostatic separator for triboelectrically-charged granular plastic wastes

Abstract

A new configuration of tribo-electrostatic separator equipped with an insulating belt conveyor is described and analyzed in this paper. The insulating belt is continually charged by corona discharge produced by a thin wire electrode (diameter: 0.3 mm), placed at a distance of 40 mm above it. The accumulated charge on the belt leads to the enhancement of the electric field at the surface of the conveyor. Two material types of the conveyor belt, namely Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polyester (PET), were used and compared. A comparison with the same configuration without charging the belt has shown that the performance of the new separator is much better, in terms of recovery and purity rates.