Charging of particulates in the corona field of roll-type electroseparators

The physics of corona charging phenomena is of paramount importance for the development of such electrotechnologies as precipitation of dust, spraying of powders and selective sorting of particulate mixtures. This study focused on the use of corona discharge in electroseparation processes. Crude theoretical evaluations pointed out that the required corona current density and high-voltage level in this application depend on various factors, such as material characteristics, feed rate and configuration of the electrode system. Experiments carried out on a laboratory roll-type electroseparator demonstrated the capability of a new corona electrode design to generate an extended and quasi-uniform corona field. Stable corona discharges were obtained when energizing that electrode at both positive and negative polarities from a reversible non-filtered full-bridge high-voltage rectifier. The voltage-current characteristics of the corona discharge from the new electrode were determined under various operating conditions: (i) without material in the inter-electrode gap; (ii) with a monolayer of a 50% aluminium-50% polyvinyl chloride particulate mixture on the surface of the grounded electrode; (iii) with a similar monolayer of metallic particles (99% aluminium); and (iv) with a layer of insulating particles (99% polyvinyl chloride). In each case, attention was paid to the upper acceptable limit of operating voltage, as well as to some side effects of corona discharges, such as audible noise and ozone generation. The efficacy of corona charging was assessed by electroseparation tests involving two groups of particulate materials: (i) barley grains, impurified with weeds and soil particulates; and (ii) granular mixtures of metals and plastics, yielded by chopping electric wire and cable scrap. Several practical considerations were formulated, based on a critical evaluation of the experimental results.