Electrostatic separation is a core requirement for the benefi ciation of mineral sands suites tornprovide valuable product. Although the basis of electrostatic separation has been understood forrnsome time, the details required to be able to calculate the metallurgical performance of a separatorrnhas not previously been achieved from a mechanistic perspective. Empirical models have had somernsuccess but require extensive test work. Traditionally, performance of an electrostatic separator isrndetermined by careful experimental work using the target mineral suite.rnAlthough electrostatic separation was invented at the end of the 19th century, very little modifi cationrnof the basic equipment occurred until relatively recently, with the addition of a plate electrode to aidrnseparation. Previously, the author has presented results, calculated using fi nite element modellingrn(FEM), of the electric fi elds present in an electrostatic separator in various confi gurations. This paperrnwill present some new mathematical modelling work, which uses the FEM determined electric fi eldrnconfi gurations but also incorporates some fundamental physical processes that provide insight as tornthe limitations and opportunities for this important separation technique.
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