Abstract
Cost effective solutions for separating plastic and other materials are necessary to improve plastic recycling rates. A pilot scale prototype separator machine was developed around an overhead triboelectrically charged conveyor belt and vibratory table concept to separate paper flake from a shredded heterogenous mixture of paper labels and high-density polyethylene (HPDE) plastic flakes. The material mixture was run through a polycarbonate processing box attached to a vibratory table that excited the material vertically towards a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) conveyor belt that was tribocharged with a polyurethane (PU) roller which attracted the loose paper flake from the HDPE. A set of experiments were conducted to find the most effective combination of control inputs on the machine. The prototype separator machine demonstrated a peak effectiveness value of 57%, but the prototype separator machine will require design changes before the concept can be fully evaluated for its use at an industrial scale.