Electrostatic separation of copper/PVC mixtures from electric cable wastes using an induction-type separation

Remadnia, Mokdad (author), Kachi, Miloud (author)

The paper investigates the impact of various parameters on the electrostatic separation of a metalinsulator mixture, specifically focusing on copper and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The separation process employs an induction-type separator in which a suspended rotating roll attracts metallic particles through their induced charge. Upon contact with the rotating electrode, the particle charge is reversed, leading to its expulsion due to a repulsive force. The investigation shows that several factors—including the particle size, voltage, roll speed, and the positioning of the collecting box—significantly affect the recovery rate. The roll attraction zone is experimentally determined based on the behavior of individual particles. It is observed that once a minimum voltage is reached to lift a particle, the attraction distance increases linearly with the applied voltage. To optimize the separation process, an experimental methodology is employed, in which the process is represented as a polynomial function of two control variables i.e. the applied voltage and the roll speed. The resulting quadratic model of a high descriptive and predictive capability quantifies the impact of each parameter. Under optimal states, high-purity PVC particles (95%) and the copper recovery rate of 97% are achieved.

• Language: English
• Keywords: recycling, electrostatic separation, electric cable wastes, design of experiments, metal-insulator mixtures
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 174-180
• Numbering: Letn. 92, št. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-183359
• UDC: 628.477:621.359.7
• ISSN on article: 0013-5852
• COBISS.SI-ID: 280483587
• Publication date in RUL: 11.06.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Elektrotehniški vestnik
• Publisher: Strokovna zadruga koncesijoniranih elektrotehnikov, Elektrotehniška zveza Slovenije
• ISSN: 0013-5852
• COBISS.SI-ID: 742916

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Elektrostatska ločitev mešanic bakra in PVC iz odpadnih električnih kablov z uporabo električnega separatorja

Abstract

Raziskava preučuje elektrostatsko ločevanje bakra in PVC iz odpadnih električnih kablov z uporabo indukcijskega separatorja, pri čemer se kovinski delci zaradi induciranega naboja prilepijo na vrtljivi valj in se nato zaradi spremembe naboja izločijo. Raziskava je pokazala, da na učinkovitost ločevanja vplivajo napetost, hitrost valja, velikost delcev in položaj zbirne posode. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da se po dosegu minimalne napetosti, potrebne za dvig delca, razdalja privlaka povečuje linearno z naraščajočo napetostjo. Za optimizacijo postopka ločevanja je bil proces predstavljen kot polinomska funkcija dveh kontrolnih spremenljivk: uporabljene napetosti in hitrosti vrtenja valja. Nastali kvadratni model z visoko opisno in napovedno močjo kvantitativno izraža vpliv posameznih parametrov. V optimalnih pogojih sta doseženi visoka čistost delcev PVC (95 %) in izplen bakra (97 %).

• Keywords: mininalna napetost, separator, optimizacija postopka, baker, PVC