Method and device for sorting fibers in suspension in an aerosol through the combination of electrostatic and centrifugal forces
AssigneeCommissariat A L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives
InventorsSimon CLAVAGUERA, Michel POURPRIX, Francois RARDIF
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Abstract
The invention consists of a continuous sorting method and device which highlights the trajectory differences to which fibers of different form factors and particles charged under the joint influence of electrical forces and a centrifugal force could be subjected. Thus, according to the sorting method, the conditions exploit this difference in order to recover/collect the fibers separated from the non-fibrous particles present in the same initial aerosol or to sort fibers exhibiting different form factors.
Claims10
A method for sorting micro- and nano-fibers in suspension in an aerosol likely to contain fibers of different sizes and possibly non-fibrous particles, comprising the following steps:
- a/ charging of the particles in suspension in the aerosol, by unipolar ion diffusion;
- b/ application of an electrical field between two electrically conductive surfaces of revolution, arranged with their axis vertical and defining a space between them;
- the electrical field being directed from the outer surface to the inner surface;
- c/ introduction of an aerosol flow from an input on top between the two surfaces of revolution;
- the flow of the air flow being non-turbulent in the space between surfaces of revolution;
- the air flow circulating from an input on top between the two surfaces of revolution to an output below, delimited by a tube arranged below between the two surfaces of revolution;
- c′/ simultaneously with the step c/, rotation at a given velocity of the surfaces of revolution and of the output tube;
- d/ recovery of the part of air flow charged with fibers and circulating inside the output tube;
- the fibers recovered in the part of air flow being separated from the non-fibrous particles initially present in the aerosol and ejected by the centrifugal force out of the output tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.