Electrostatic separation of minerals based on the differences in conductivity is a mature technology.

High-tension roll separators have been widely used in the minerals industry since the 1960s. heir greatest use is separating minerals found in heavy sands from beach or stream placers !"ance and #orrison$ 199%&. he fundamental difference in electrostatic separator design lies in the use of either a pure electrostatic field or a convective field. 'n addition$ these separators may be roughly classified under their general method of conveying granular material through the electrostatic fields( !1& stationary chutes$ plates$ or shelves$ !%& rotary roll$ !)& free falling stream$ and !*& vibrating tables !+alston$ 1961&. ,oth roll and plate versions are used e-tensively in the mineral sand processing industries. raditional mineral sand dry mill electrostatic separation circuits use combinations of High ension +oll !H +& and Electrostatic .late !E/.& machines to separate electrically conducting minerals from non-conducting minerals. hese circuits normally generate partially separated 0middling1 streams of conductor and non-conductor particles that are recirculated to some earlier stage in the circuit. 2t e3uilibrium$ the amount of this recirculated material can be greater than the amount of introduced fresh feed.

ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION
E4E5 +6/ 2 '5 /E.2+2 '67 is defined as 8the selective sorting of solid species by means of utili9ing forces acting on charged or polari9ed bodies in an electric field. /eparation is effected by ad:usting the electric and coacting forces$ such as gravity or centrifugal force$ and the different tra:ectories at some predetermined time. /eparations made in air are called Electrostatic /eparation. /eparations made using a corona discharge device$ are called High ension /eparations. /eparations made in li3uids are termed separation by "ielectrophesis$ and if motion is due to polari9ation effects in nonuniform electric fields. Electrophoresis is when separations are made if motion is due to a free charge on the species in an electric field. here are no industrial applications of mineral concentrations by electrophoresis of dielectrophesis.8

Electrostatic separation is important in the production of minerals$ also in the reclamation of other valuable materials$ as well as the cleaning of some food products. ;hen every effort is being made by .rocess Engineers to ma<e use of all concentrating e3uipment available for the recovery of critical minerals

and reclaimed materials$ the sub:ect of applied electrostatic separation is of interest .

HIGH TENSION ELECTROSTATIC ROLL SEPARATOR

High-tension electrostatic separators utili9e the electrical conductivity difference between the various minerals within an ore feed. 2s shown in =igure 1$ the high-tension roll electrostatic separator !H +& utili9es a grounded roll to transport feed material through the high voltage ioni9ing field !corona& where particles are charged by ion bombardment. 5onducting particles pass their charge to the grounded carrier electrode !roll& and are therefore free to be thrown from the roll by centrifugal and gravity forces. 7on-conducting particles are pinned to the carrier electrode and are transported further around the roll periphery$ where they drop from the electrode surface$ either because their charge dissipates$ or by mechanical means$ e.g. brush and high voltage 25 wiper !>elly and /pottiswood$ 19?9&.

OPERATING PARAMETERS:
6perating parameters that affect separation performance in an H + machine include( 1. roll speed$ %. number of corona electrodes and electrode position with respect to the grounded electrode$ ). intensity and polarity of applied potential$ *. feed rate$ @. electrode surface cleaning$ and 6. temperature of the feed material A. mineral surface condition hroughput capacity of a high tension electrostatic separator is closely related to the roll speed$ roll width$ and characteristics of the feed material. =or a roll with a smaller diameter$ a higher rotation speed is re3uired in order to maintain a substantial feed rate. However$ at higher +.#$ coarse$ non-

conductive particles tend to leave the roll surface too early due to the increase in centrifugal force resulting in a large portion of misplaced nonconductive particles in the conductor stream. Bice versa$ under a low +.# condition$ fine conductive particles do not gain enough inertia to be thrown off the roll$ resulting in misplacement of the nonconductor stream. herefore$ for the treatment of particle mi-tures with a range of physical characteristics$ including conductivity$ particle si9e$ and density$ it is necessary to ad:ust the roll speed and electrode positions to optimi9e the process.

HIGH TENSION ELECTROSTATIC PLATE SEPARATOR

he high-tension electrostatic plate separator !H .& is comprised of a curved$ inclined$ electrically grounded plate$ onto which a feed mi-ture is introduced$ and where particles will travel over and down the surface due to gravity. 2s shown in =igure %$ conductive particles obtain surface charge by induction when sub:ected to the electric field created between the static and grounded electrodes$ while the non-conductive particles remain uncharged. he electrical attraction of the static electrode lifts charged conductors from the grounded plate$ thus separating them from the non-conductive particles. hey then discharge at a different tra:ectory resulting in mineral separation. 6ne of the earliest commercial forms of electrostatic separators utili9ed a sloping plate. hese separators were constructed of thin sheet metal plates$ either straight or curved$ that were positioned in a sloping fashion to allow free flow of granular material under an active electric field. Cnder the influence of an electrostatic field$ conductive particles$ especially fine grains$ were lifted towards the charged electrode$ while the coarse non-conducting particles were effectively re:ected. his is the converse of the separation in a high-tension roll separator$ where most of the effective separation is of fine non-conductors from coarse conductors. herefore$ a combination of high tension roll separators$ as primary roughers$ followed by final cleaning using plate type separators is employed in many mineral sand processing flowsheets !;ills$ 199%&.

DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES OF ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATORS

.article charging$ feed si9e distribution$ and centrifugal force have a great impact on the separation efficiency of a high-tension roll electrostatic separator. he larger the surface area of a particle$ the more surface charge it obtains in a discharging electric !corona& field. he specific surface area of a fine particle is larger than that of a coarse oneD therefore$ greater charge is ac3uired. 2s shown in E3uation !1&$ when the particle si9e increases$ the centrifugal force$ =5$ acting on the particle increases rapidly because =5 is proportional to the cube of the particle radius$ r$ =E!*F)&Gr)HI%+ where J is specific gravity of particles$ w the angular velocity of the roll and + is the radius of the roll. 5oarse particles$ characteristically$ have small

specific charges and large centrifugal forces. herefore$ for the separation of coarse particles$ if they are not sufficiently charged$ the non-conducting particles may leave the roll electrode surface early and become misplaced with conducting product. o prevent this$ the electrode arrangement used to separate coarse particles should provide a wider corona field to enhance particle charging. 'n addition$ the roll rotation speed should be lowered in order to minimi9e the negative effect from the centrifugal force. =or fine particle separation with an H +$ the conducting particles may remain on the roll surface too longD hence$ they are misplaced with non-conducting product. he misplacement can be attributed to 1&. higher surface charge$ less inertiaFcentrifugal forces$ and %&. particle entrapment as shown in =igure ). herefore$ the electrode arrangement used to separate fine particles should provide a narrower corona field$ less corona current and a wider and stronger static field. 'n addition$ higher roll rotation speed should be used to ensure the fine conducting particles leave the electrode surface as early as possible. =rom a processing point of view$ for a feed material with wide particle si9e distribution$ it is beneficial to split the feed material into narrow si9e fractions in order to obtain higher separation efficiency. o better understand the static field intensity of a high-tension electrostatic separator$ see the analytical model !#esenyashin$ 199A& shown in =igure. *. =igure @a shows the calculated static field intensity based on the e3uations above. 6verlapping this calculation results into a roll and static electrode configuration$ a schematic of which is shown in =igure @b. 't can be noted that for a single static electrode configuration$ the highest field intensity is at the centerline$ from the center of roll to the center of static electrode. he results also show that away from the static electrode$ the field gradient decreases rapidly. =or fine particle separation$ where a stronger and wider static field is re3uired$ this configuration imposes an undesirable effect. =igure 6 shows the static field intensity distribution with a multiple static electrode arrangement. 't can be seen that the field intensity pattern is stronger and wider within the separation 9one for this type of arrangement. /tronger field intensity may also help to prevent the coarse non-conducting particles from leaving the roll surface too early because the static electrodes serve as a repelling force. 'n general$ to achieve effective separation using a high-tension electrostatic separator$ the applicable particle si9e is coarser than appro-imately 100 Jm. 'n practice$ uniform particle si9e feed leads to better separation efficiency. herefore$ effective si9ing of the feed material should be addressed in hightension electrostatic separation in order to render high separator performance. /i9ing of material has been applied e-tensively in the processing industry. /creening is used on relatively coarse material as its efficiency decreases rapidly with fineness. 5lassification is the standard for si9ing of particles finer than %@0 Jm. 'n an electrostatic separator$ the si9ing mechanism is the influence of the electric field on particle acceleration. . .articles ac3uire surface charge when

they are sub:ected to ion bombardment as shown in =igure. A. he physical law governing particle acceleration$ a$ in an electric field is given as (

where =E is the electric force$ 3 is particles charge$ E is the electric field intensity$ m is particles mass$ r is the radius of the particle$ and J is the specific gravity of the particle. E3uation !)& suggests that the acceleration of fine$ charged particles in an electric field is greater than that of coarse particles. Cnder cross flow condition$ i.e. particles are falling in vertical direction while corona ioni9ation is generated in hori9ontal direction$ the net effect of gravitational force and electrical force on the free falling tra:ectory of particles is greatly enhanced. 'n the other words$ fine particles drift in the --a-is direction under the influence of electrical force while gravitational force dominates the free fall tra:ectory of coarse particles$ thus$ particle si9ing can be achieved.

DEVELOPMENT : THE eFORCE ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATOR

,ased on the analytical model and engineering data$ a pilot scale e=orce electrostatic separator has been developed (

Case Study I: Conductor R!c" Feed Strea# =or performance evaluation$ plant test wor< on a pilotKscale e=orce electrostatic separator was conducted at an 'lu<a$ Lreen 5ove /prings$ =lorida$ C/2$ operation. he separator was designated to reduce the 5a6 content in the feed to the leuco-ene stream by removing epidote so that the leuco-ene would meet product specification$ i.e. less that 0.% per cent 5a6. 2s shown in able '$ the e=orce reduced the 5a6 content in the feed from 0.*1 to 0.0? per cent at a yield of 9@ per cent while the H + lowered the 5a6 content from 0.*1 to 0.1? per cent at a yield of ?@ per cent. 2 comparative separator performance plot is given in =igure 9. 't should be pointed out that H + collected conductor-rich$ middling$ and nonconductor-rich streams while the e=orce only collected conductor and non-conductor streams. est results from this series of test wor< are given in able '. 2s shown in able '$ the significant differences in the re:ect stream from the e=orce and H + suggests that the e=orce is capable of removing fine conductor particles more effectively than the plants e-isting high tension electrostatic separator. he improved separation efficiency can be attributed to 1&. effective nondischarging static electrode arrangement that helps to pull fine conductor particles away from the roll surface$ and %&. combined effects from the discharging and nondischarging electrodes of the e=orce results in less middlings.

Case Study $: Non Conductor R!c" Feed Strea# 2n additional pilot test program was performed with non conductor-rich feed material on the e=orce to evaluate the separator performance. 2 9ircon scavenger feed stream at the same plant was sub:ected to the one-pass pilot scale e-=orce unit at a feed rate of 110 <gFcmFhour per feed width. est results showed that e=orce achieved an ?@ per cent yield in the 9ircon product while the H + produced a @6 per cent yield at a similar metallurgical performance$ i.e. % per cent i6% contamination in the 9ircon product. est results of this series of e-perimental wor< are given in able ''.

CONCLUSION
High tension separation utili9es the differences in electrical conductivity between the various minerals in the ore feed. /ince all almost all minerals show some difference in conductivity$ it would appear to represent the universal concentration method. High tension separation is currently employed commercially to beneficiate a number of ores. 'n all cases however$ where high tension separation has been significant success the particulate materials treated have been characteri9ed by a particular si9e of -1* to M%00 and have not contained a substantial amount of a si9e smaller than %00 mesh. he significance and economic advantages of an apparatus and method permitting the high tension separation of ores and other materials containing substantial 3uantities of dust li<e particles. hus $ high tension separation method is widely used for the separation of materials in different fields such as in the production of ore that is in e-tractive metallurgy or rare earths etc.

REFERENCES :
"ance$ 2.".$ and #orrison$ +.".$ 199%. Nuantifying a blac< art( the electrostatic separation of minerals Engineering . >elly$ E.L.$ ans /pottiswood$ ".O. !19?9a&. he theory of electrostatic separations

 +alston$ 6.5.$ Electrostatic /eparation of #i-ed Lranular /olids. .riciples of #ineral "ressing $ 2.Laudin mine-engineer.com openpdf.com