Purity prediction of the two‐stage high voltage electrostatic separation of a mixture of three polymers. Issue 12 (5th October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tian, Chifeng; Zhang, Hongshen
• Is Part Of: Polymer engineering & science. Volume 62:Issue 12(2022)
• Page Start: 4018
• Page End: 4031
• Publication Date: 2022-10-05
• Subjects: kinematics analysis -- purity prediction -- triboelectrostatic separation -- two‐stage free‐fall separator -- vehicle polymer particles; Polymer engineering -- Periodicals; Polymers -- Periodicals; 668.9
• DOI: 10.1002/pen.26163
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-3888

Abstract

Abstract: Clean and efficient separation is an important requirement for the high‐value‐added recycling of end‐of‐life automobile polymers. In this study, polymer particles for vehicles were considered as research objects, and a two‐stage electrostatic separation device was designed to separate a mixture of three polymer particles. A kinematic model of friction‐charged particles in a two‐stage free‐fall separator was established. Then, a suitable time period for triboelectrostatic charging with regard to electrostatic separation was determined, and a charge–mass ratio distribution of mixed‐polymer particles, that is, polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE), was measured using a Faraday cage based on the triboelectrostatic charging experiment of three types of particles in a friction barrel‐type tribocharger. The theoretical purities of PA, PP, and PE were calculated using the motion and particle charge–mass ratio distribution models were 100.00%, 89.51%, and 92.95% respectively. The experimental purities of PA, PP, and PE were 94.68%, 80.76%, and 84.27%, respectively, which is consistent with the theoretical purity. Results of the study can provide a theoretical and experimental reference for one‐pass electrostatic separation of three kinds of plastic particles. Abstract : The paper aims to separate three kinds of polymer particles by electrostatic separation technology and propose a solution to effectively predict the separation results by analyzing the motion of polymer particles in the separator. The theoretical purities of PA, PP, and PE were 100.00%, 89.51%, and 92.95%, respectively. The experimental purities of PA, PP, and PE were 94.68%, 80.76%, and 84.27%, respectively, which is consistent with the theoretical purities