title: Triboelectric separation technology for removing inorganics from non-metallic fraction of waste printed circuit boards: Influence of size fraction and process optimization.
abstract: Removing inorganics from non-metallic fraction (NMF) of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) is an effective mean to improve its usability. The effect of size fraction on the triboelectric separation of NMF of WPCBs was investigated in a lab triboelectric separation system and the separation process was optimized in this paper. The elements distribution in raw NMF collected from typical WPCBs recycling plant and each size fraction obtained by sieving were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The results show that the main inorganic elements in NMF are P, Ba, Mn, Sb, Ti, Pb, Zn, Sn, Mg, Fe, Ca, Cu, Al and Si. The inorganic content of each size fraction increased with the size decreasing. The metal elements are mainly distributed in -0.2mm size fraction, and concentrated in middle product of triboelectric separation. The loss on ignition (LOI) of positive product and negative product is higher than that of the middle product for the -0.355mm size fraction, while the LOI presents gradually increasing trend from negative to positive plate for the +0.355mm size fraction. Based on the separation results and mineralogical characterizations of each size fraction of NMF, the pretreatment process including several mineral processing operations was added before triboelectric separation and better separation result was obtained.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Guangwen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China. Electronic address: whfcumt@126.com.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Advanced Analysis & Computation Center, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Yaqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; Key Laboratory of Coal Processing and Efficient Utilization, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Advanced Analysis & Computation Center, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Analysis & Computation Center, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D059029:Electronic Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods*; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D008903:Minerals
keywords: Non-metallic fraction; Size fraction; Triboelectric separation; Waste printed circuit boards