Tribocharged electrostatic beneficiation of a lunar simulant and actual Apollo regolith has been shown to be successful under a high lunar vacuum in which various degrees of efficient particle separation and mineral enrichment of up to a few hundred percent were achieved. In this paper, electrostatic beneficiation of a lunar simulant at , as run on reduced gravity flights (RGFs), is reported. Enrichment of the target mineral ilmenite was achieved as high as 65 and 106% in the two RGF flights undertaken, showing that tribocharged electrostatic beneficiation is a viable process in the lunar environment. It was also shown that the efficiency of the separation was a factor in the orientation of the apparatus in the aircraft because the force of gravity was not perpendicular to the plane of the apparatus during the flight parabolas.
Evaluation of Tribocharged Electrostatic Beneficiation of Lunar Simulant in Lunar Gravity
Journal of Aerospace Engineering ; 26 , 1 ; 37-42
2012-12-15
62013-01-01 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Evaluation of Tribocharged Electrostatic Beneficiation of Lunar Simulant in Lunar Gravity
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