Charge-decay characteristics of granular materials forming mono-layers at the surface of grounded electrodes

Laboratory studies and in-field observations shown that the charge decay characteristics of the granular materials at the surface of the grounded roll electrode significantly influence the outcome of the electrostatic separation process. The present paper validates an indirect method of charge decay characterization, based on the measurement of the electrical potential at the surface of a monolayer of granular insulating material. The study was performed on three materials - PVC, PE and rubber - extracted from chopped electric wire wastes. The granules (characteristic size in the range 1 to 4 mm) were disposed on the surface of a grounded plate electrode (layer area: 100 mm x 100 mm; electrode area: 200 mm x 200 mm). A wire-type corona electrode, energized from a DC high-voltage supply, was employed for charging the granules. The potential due to the charge at the surface of the granular layer was measured with the capacitive probe of an electrostatic voltmeter connected to a personal computer. Data acquisition and processing were done using the LabView environment. The influence of particles characteristics and of ambient factors was studied. The findings enabled a more accurate modelling of discharging phenomena that affect the performances of electrostatic separators. The method can be easily adopted in ESD studies for material characterisation.