Concept and Design of the Test Bench for Electrostatic Separation in Plastic Recycling Application

¹ Institute of Materials Technology, Polymer Processing Division, Poznan University of Technology, 3 Piotrowo St., 61-138 Poznan, Poland
² Institute of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Division of Mechatronics and Electrical Machines, Poznan University of Technology, 3 Piotrowo St., 61-138 Poznan, Poland
³ Institute of Mechanical Technology, Division of Mechatronic Devices, Poznan University of Technology, 3 Piotrowo St., 61-138 Poznan, Poland
⁴ Institute of Mechanical Technology, Laboratory of Intelligent Machines, Poznan University of Technology, 3 Piotrowo St., 61-138 Poznan, Poland

Abstract

Plastics recycling has become a key industry in developed countries, to reduce ecological damage and save non-renewable resources. This paper discusses the concept and the design of electrostatic separator as a test bench for the separation of different plastics in recycling applications. In the automotive recycling process, all these waste materials must be processed further for re-entering the cycle or thermal utilization. The following application presents the possibility of research and technological tests by changing several parameters, such as a position of the electrodes, control of the polarity and voltage, variable speed of feeder and drum, and also tribo-electrification parameters (time, intensity). The impact of process parameters on the efficiency of the plastic separation can be analyzed by the developed a specialized computer vision system. The preliminary results of conducted tests showed that separation is dependent on many variations of parameters. The results of this study indicate that the proposed innovative design of the research stand ensures the high research potential of the proposed equipment.