Operational conditions of an electrostatic separator for concentrate copper from electronic waste

Abstract Interest in recycling for the recovery of valuable substances, such as precious metals from electric and electronic waste has been increasing year after year due to the large amount present in such waste compared to primary sources. There is environmental concern, since the amount of this kind of waste is increasing due to rapid technological advances. This study aimed to test the different operating conditions of an electrostatic separator for the concentration of copper from printer circuit boards (PCB). The PCBs were milled in knife mills and separated according to the difference of granule sizes into two fractions: A (<0.5 mm); B (0.5