Experimental investigation of an optimised tribocharger design for space resource utilisation

Triboelectric charging and free-fall separation are attractive technologies for lunar mineral beneficiation. Here, an optimised tribocharger design was built evaluated under terrestrial conditions. The behaviour of pure silica ilmenite were tested using the design, as mixtures ilmenite, samples regolith simulant JSC-1. Pure acquired negative positive charge, respectively, through contact with tribocharger. affected significantly movement minerals in electrostatic field. Results from binary indicate that recovery is independent initial concentration, can be predicted mass distribution samples. For JSC-1, found to increase density material certain collectors, indicating upgrading denser constituents. has a significant effect on performance.