Tribocharging in electrostatic beneficiation of coal: Effects of surface composition on work function as measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy in air

The cleaning of coal by electrostatic beneficiation is based on tribocharging characteristics of pulverized coal particles with diameter smaller than 120 μm. The tribocharging process should be such that the organic coal particles must charge with a polarity opposite to that of the sulfur and the mineral containing particles so that coal can be separated from minerals by using a charge separator. However, the charge distribution of electrostatically separated coal particles indicates that coal exhibits bipolar charging. A significant fraction of the coal particles charges negatively which appears to be in conflict with expectations in that the organic coal particles should charge positively, and the mineral particles, present as impurities such as pyrite, charge negatively when tribocharged against copper. The relative work functions of the particles (coal and mineral) and that of the metal surface (copper or stainless steel) used for tribocharging predict these expected results. However, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) measurements in air on specimens of three different coal species, showed the work function to be approximately 5.4 eV, which is higher than a reported measured work function of 3.93 eV. Studies by UPS and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on copper, stainless steel, aluminum, and other commonly used tribocharging materials such as nylon and polytetrafluorethylene, as well as pure pyrite, showed that the work function varied considerably as a function of surface composition. Therefore, the reason for the bipolar charging of the coal particles may be the too small differences in work functions between coal powder and copper used as the charging material. The choice of a material for impaction triboelectric charging for coal or mineral separation should therefore depend upon the actual work function as modified by the ambient conditions such as moisture content and the oxidation of the surface