NSF Award
9983422
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will apply the ElectriMag (tm) concept to separation of unburned carbon from coal combustion fly ash. A proprietary add-on reactor will be tested for separation of ammonia from fly ash particles at plants using catalytic nitrogen oxide separators. The ElectriMag (tm) separator (patent pending) combines triboelectric forces with magnetic forces to allow the separation of particles which have similar magnetic properties but differing surface electrical charging characteristics, or vice versa. An alpha prototype built and tested in Phase I showed the feasibility of the concept. A beta prototype will be designed, built, and tested on fly ash from coal fired power plants in Phase II; this model will incorporate changes suggested by the work of Phase I. A conceptual level engineering evaluation will be done and a conceptual design of a 2000 Lb/Hr pilot unit will be made.<br/><br/>Potential commercial applications include separation of unburned carbon from fly ash, recovery of activated carbon from municipal incinerator fly ash, and dry coal cleaning.
