Evaluation of Tribocharged Electrostatic Beneficiation of Lunar Simulant in Lunar Gravity
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 1
Abstract
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.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 1 • January 2013
Pages: 37 - 42
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 15, 2011
Accepted: Mar 12, 2012
Published online: Dec 15, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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