A process for trichome separation from plant matter deploys an ionic brine to induce oedemic transformation of disk cell to aid in releasing glandular trichomes. The brine can be agitated to further release disk cells from the plant tissue. The disk cell debris can be separated by sieving the larger trichomes and plant tissue particles that results from agitation and maceration. If the brine concentration is appropriately modified, the trichomes will float and the brine and the plant tissue fragments sink. The floating trichomes are then removed and rinsed and then dried or extracted further after drying.

A process for separating Anthracite and low quality carbon from refuse. Crushed refuse is admixed with water from a water storage source. The admixture is transferred to a first cyclone separator to divide the admixture into a refuse rich slurry stream and a carbonaceous rich slurry stream. The refuse rich slurry stream is dewatered through a vibrating screen and the water collected sent to the raw feed sump source. The carbonaceous rich slurry is directed to a second cyclone separator to separate low quality carbon from high quality carbon, the high quality carbon is transferred to a third cyclone separator used to separate the media water therefrom. The separated media water is returned via a siphon leg to the raw feed sump, and the dewatered high quality Anthracite is available for markets requiring higher quality carbon.

A process for separating Anthracite and low quality carbon from refuse. Crushed refuse is admixed with water from a water storage source. The admixture is transferred to a first cyclone separator to divide the admixture into a refuse rich slurry stream and a carbonaceous rich slurry stream. The refuse rich slurry stream is dewatered through a vibrating screen and the water collected sent to the raw feed sump source. The carbonaceous rich slurry is directed to a second cyclone separator to separate low quality carbon from high quality carbon, the high quality carbon is transferred to a third cyclone separator used to separate the media water therefrom. The separated media water is returned via a siphon leg to the raw feed sump, and the dewatered high quality Anthracite is available for markets requiring higher quality carbon.

A process for trichome separation from plant matter deploys water slurry agitation and/or dry sieving to produce a mixture of solid trichomes and similar sized plant debris. The plant debris in each separate fraction is then removed by gravity filtration in a dense inert liquid, which is preferably a salt or brine solution. The desirable trichomes or trichome glands float on the dense liquid, while the undesirable vegetative matter sinks to the bottom of the brine containing vessel. The trichomes are readily removed and washed before further processing.

A flotation separator apparatus can include a tank for receiving an incoming feed stream comprising plastic material and metal material liberated from battery materials. A separator liquid can be within the tank and at least a first submersion agitator may be located downstream from an inlet and may have at least a first engagement member that is movable and configured to urge the engaged metal and plastic materials downwardly to submerge them in the separator liquid thereby dislodging at least a first portion of metal material from the plastic material and allowing the dislodged first portion of the metal material to precipitate toward the lower end of the tank.

A system and method for magnetic density separation of products. The system including a magnet configured to amplify a density gradient in a magnetic liquid for separating the products in the magnetic liquid according to their different density. A plate shape is disposed along a product path where respective products travel through the magnetic liquid. A driving mechanism is configured to drive the plate shape with a reciprocating motion for lowering a static friction of the respective products coming into contact with the plate shape. Accordingly, process continuity can be improved while maintaining a high separation efficiency, in particular by alleviating material build-up and clogging of products at the splitter and other surfaces with minimal disturbance to the process flow.

A cyclonic separation and materials processing method and system is presented in which materials entry at one end and which is arranged so that the materials that enter will be given a tangential velocity component as they enter. Specific embodiments include a three-dimensional sorting system with the use of an outward centrifugal motion and up/down (or vertical) motion flow of water or other media, which can be thought of as a three-dimensional separation.

The disclosed methods use a multi-phase system to separate samples according to the density of an analyte of interest. The method uses a multi-phase system that comprises two or more phase-separated solutions and a phase component such as a surfactant or polymer. The density of the analyte of interest differs from the densities of the rest of the sample. The density of the analyte of interest is substantially the same as one or more phases. Thus, when the sample is introduced to the multi-phase system, the analyte of interest migrates to the phase having the same density as the analyte of interest, passing through one or more phases sequentially.

A kit for separating a sample comprising one or more biological analytes of interest using a multi-phase system comprising: a) two or more phase components selected from the group consisting of a polymer, a surfactant, and combinations thereof; b) optionally a tag molecule capable of binding the one or more biological analytes of interest; and c) instructions for: (i) combining the two or more phase-separated solutions with a common solvent to create a multi-phase system; (ii) optionally, combining the biological analyte of interest and tag molecule, and (iii) separating the biological analyte of interest from the sample.

A multi-phase system includes a phase-separated solution comprising at least two phases, each phase having a phase component selected from the group consisting of a polymer, a surfactant and combinations thereof, wherein at least one phase comprises a polymer, wherein the phases, taken together, represent a density gradient. Novel two-phase, three-phase, four-phase, five-phase, or six-phase systems are disclosed. Using the disclosed multi-phase polymer systems, particles, or other analyte of interest can be separated based on their different densities or affinities.