Wolfson Electrostatics
Archived News

Millennium Product finds applications for 1999 and beyond

The Tribopen, which won a UK Millennium Products Award, is now finding applications well beyond the Automotive sector for which it was originally designed. In fact, electrostatic techniques generally are being considered in various areas including identification of hazardous materials, separating man-made and natural textiles¹ and recycling electrical cable insulation.

The biggest potential application for electrostatics, however, is likely to be in the field of domestic and industrial waste management and recycling.

This was one of the main themes of the APME Identiplast Conference and Exhibition in Brussels earlier this year and the Tribopen was one of the stars of the show.

Graham Hearn, Technical Manager of Wolfson Electrostatics, gave an oral presentation on the development of the Tribopen² and the instrument was also demonstrated at the Peter Walker Systems³ stand in the exhibition hall where there was considerable interest.

Why so much interest now in the Tribopen? - Peter Walker explains:

"Most of the plastics identification techniques demonstrated at this event involve expensive bench-top equipment. This is not always suited for use in scrapyards and recycling plants. The Tribopen, on the other hand, is battery operated and will easily fit into the pocket. Obviously, the Tribopen will not enable identification of a vast number of plastics, but many applications deal with only two or three plastics and for these the Tribopen is ideally suited."

One such application is the identification of hazardous flammable building materials. Translucent plastic light diffuser panels for fluorescent tubes in offices, for example, may be made of polycarbonate or acrylic (PMMA). To the eye these two materials are identical but they have very different combustion properties - acrylic will readily burn and propagate flame and polycarbonate will not, an important consideration in office blocks that may contain many thousand panels.

Applications Update

A number of Asbestos Identification instruments have now been sold for industrial applications in Europe. This device (sometimes referred to as the 'Asbestopen') uses triboelectric charge generation to determine the presence of asbestos fibres in vehicle clutch plates and brake linings. The instrument has now been fully tested and proven by a leading European company involved in removing hazardous materials such as asbestos from the recycling loop.

Do you have a non-destructive material identification requirement? If so, send us some samples with a covering letter (contact address). We can ascertain fairly quickly whether electrostatic techniques are feasible. Remember, however, that the Tribopen is not suited to identifying or separating large numbers of unknown materials.

References

1. G L Hearn and K L Gandhi, "Use of electrostatic techniques to distinguish between fibres", Textile Monthly 48-52, Nov 1997.



2. G L Hearn, "Identification of plastics using electrostatics - the development of the Tribopen", APME Identiplast Conf. (1999).



3. Peter Walker Systems (Plastic Identification Technology), Von-Roon-Str. 30, 50127 Bergheim, Germany. Info@walkersystems.de

For further information on electrostatic applications contact Wolfson Electrostatics.