Collision effects in axial HGMS

A theoretical study is presented of the effect of particle-particle interactions during separation on the performance of continuous, axial, high-gradient magnetic separators. In the separation of a two-particle system, the magnetic particles are swept across the separation zone and collected in a different outlet from that of the nonmagnetic tails. The degree to which they carry with them a certain fraction of the tails is a function of both concentrations and the probability of interparticle attachment. In addition, some of the magnetic particles may remain in the flow of tails. These effects reduce the selectivity of the separation. The mechanisms responsible for the particle interactions can be of mechanical, electrostatic, van der Waals, or magnetic origin, or some combination of these, in complex particle systems such as those found in coal-pyrite separations