ABSTRACT
Triboelectrostatic technology allows the separation of materials with very similar conductivity, as in the case of plastics [1-4]. The theory involved postulates that an electrical charge is transferred when a particle collides with materials having different “work function” (WF): the resulting charge density can be used to separate these materials in an electric field. WF is the minimum energy needed to remove an electron from a solid to a point immediately outside the solid surface. Collision of two materials can cause a charge transfer, so the particle with higher WF charges positively and the other negatively.
