A Simple μ-PTV Setup to Estimate Single-Particle Charge of Triboelectrically Charged Particles

Influence of Particle Contact Number on Triboelectric Separation Selectivity

Triboelectric separation is a promising technology to separate fine powders. To enable triboelectric separation for its application in industry, the impact of the process and product parameters must be examined. In this study, with regards to different wall materials in the charging step (PTFE, POM, PE, PVC, and PMMA), the influence of the powder composition of a binary starch-protein mixture with a protein content of 15 wt.%, 30 wt.% and 45 wt.% was studied. By increasing the protein content in the feed, the separation selectivity increased. No dependency of the empirical triboelectric series was determined for all powder compositions. The variation in the protein content of the initial powder and turbulent flow profiles results in a variation in the contact number of particles calculated. An increase in the contact number of particles leads to an increase in the protein content separated on the cathode, whereas the protein content on the anode is only slightly affected. These findings underpin the assumption that particle-particle interaction plays a decisive role in triboelectric charging of fine powders.

Influence of Particle Charge and Size Distribution on Triboelectric Separation—New Evidence Revealed by In Situ Particle Size Measurements

Triboelectric charging is a potentially suitable tool for separating fine dry powders, but the charging process is not yet completely understood. Although physical descriptions of triboelectric charging have been proposed, these proposals generally assume the standard conditions of particles and surfaces without considering dispersity. To better understand the influence of particle charge on particle size distribution, we determined the in situ particle size in a protein–starch mixture injected into a separation chamber. The particle size distribution of the mixture was determined near the electrodes at different distances from the separation chamber inlet. The particle size decreased along both electrodes, indicating a higher protein than starch content near the electrodes. Moreover, the height distribution of the powder deposition and protein content along the electrodes were determined in further experiments, and the minimum charge of a particle that ensures its separation in a given region of the separation chamber was determined in a computational fluid dynamics simulation. According to the results, the charge on the particles is distributed and apparently independent of particle size.