Separation device for coating blasting and coating stripping booths

A blasting or stripping booth for processing a workpiece with a stream mixture of air and a blasting media producing debris upon impingement of the stream mixture with the workpiece, comprising,

• an enclosure defining an upper region for the workpiece, and a lower region,
• a fan communicating with the enclosure and creating a pressure difference and a flow of the stream mixture between the upper region and the lower region in a generally vertical downward direction,
• a separator assembly positioned between the upper region and the lower region, the separator assembly adapted to receive the stream mixture and the debris and provide a high solids concentration stream composed of air and a high concentration of the blasting media and the debris, and a low solids concentration stream composed of air and a low concentration of the blasting media and the debris,
• the separator assembly having a plurality of separator elements combined into an array, a first of the separator elements comprising a first funnel wall defining a first portion of an upper inlet and converging to form a first portion of a lower aperture the upper inlet positioned above the lower aperture, a second funnel wall defining a second portion of the upper inlet and converging to form a second portion of the lower aperture, the lower aperture communicating with a first passageway, the upper inlet communicating with a second passageway and a baffle positioned over the upper inlet and spaced from the funnel wall upper inlet whereby the upper inlet is substantially unobstructed, the pressure difference driving the stream mixture to flow from the upper region to the lower region, wherein the stream mixture and the debris are separated to create two flow paths, the two flow paths comprising a first flow path of the stream mixture and the debris which flows generally downwardly through the lower aperture and through the first passageway creating the high solids concentration stream, and a second flow path of the stream mixture and the debris enters upper inlet and the second passageway creating the low solids concentration stream.