TRIBOELECTRIFICATION OF PLASTIC PARTICLES ON A VIBRATING FEEDER LAMINATED WITH A PLASTIC FILM

Abstract The charging characteristics of polymer particles were investigated in order to develop an electrostatic separator for plastic-plastic mixtures which are to be recycled. The charging section of the proposed separator utilizes a vibrating feeder equipped with a charging plate. Plastic particles are charged by triboelectric charging while moving on the plastic plate. In order to increase the amount of a charge acquired by the plastic particles as well as to avoid an accumulation of a charge at the surface of the plastic plate, a plastic layer with a number of holes was formed by melting fine plastic powder over an aluminum plate. The charging characteristics of several kinds of plastic particles were investigated and the results show that the plastic-laminated vibrating plate is effective in charging plastic particles.