RI 7610 Electrostatic Separation With Photoelectric Charging

In this Bureau of Mines report, use of the photoemission of electrons to produce electric charges for the electrostatic separation of sonic dispersed minerals, which had previously been ground to pass a 43µ-opening sieve, is demonstrated. It appears that many of the oxides, carbonates, sulfides, and arsenides will respond to photoemission. Minerals least responsive are the oxides of silicon, the oxides of aluminum, and minerals that have a high concentration of these oxides. Although several synthetic ore mixtures did not yield to complete separation in a one-stage operation, it is probable that preliminary neutralization of the initial electric charges produced by powder dispersion will provide complete separation. That the separation can be carried out in air and without the use of reagents or heating, which are required in the present practice of electrostatically separating coarse granular feeds, is of special significance.