A method to recover drill beads from a drilling fluid used in a drilling operation comprising the steps of: directing a drilling fluid containing drill beads into a drill string positioned in a well bore, the drill beads having magnetic properties; recovering the drilling fluid containing at least a portion of the drill beads from the well bore; and magnetically separating the drill beads from the drilling fluid.

The disclosure relates to a method for sorting a collection of bodies including cemented carbide bodies and non-cemented carbide bodies. A melt having one or more of bismuth, tin and lead and having a density in the range of 7.0-12.0 g/cm.sup.3 is provided. The collection is subjected to a sorting process based on density difference by providing the collection in the melt and allowing the bodies to be sorted into a first group at a top surface of the melt and a second group at a bottom of the melt. The first group includes non-cemented carbide bodies having a density lower than the density of the melt and the second group includes cemented carbide bodies having a density higher than the density of the melt. The present disclosure also relates to a method for recycling of cemented carbides comprising the sorting method and recycling of the second group.

A method for separating amino and/or organic acid-containing particles from a mixture of amino and/or organic acid-containing particles based on density is disclosed, the method comprising: providing a feed of the amino and/or organic acid-containing particles; providing a medium having a selected density effective for particles of a lower density than the selected density to float in the medium for particles of a higher density than the selected density to sink in the medium; combining the feed of the amino and/or organic acid-containing particles with the medium; and separating the amino and/or organic acid-containing particles of the higher density from the amino and/or organic acid-containing particles of the lower density.

A centrifuge for separating minerals by specific gravity is disclosed. The centrifuge rotates to circulate slurry across a collection region and to subject slurry in the collection region to centripetal forces that facilitate stratification within the collection region by the specific gravity of the constituent minerals of the slurry. Energy, such as acoustic energy, is coupled with the collection region and enhances the stratification by specific gravity within the collection region.

A centrifuge for separating minerals by specific gravity is disclosed. The centrifuge rotates to circulate slurry across a collection region and to subject slurry in the collection region to centripetal forces that facilitate stratification within the collection region by the specific gravity of the constituent minerals of the slurry. Energy, such as acoustic energy, is coupled with the collection region and enhances the stratification by specific gravity within the collection region.

A materials-separation process includes a sorting operation in which plastics materials including at least first and second plastics materials are sorted from paper and metal materials so that the first plastics material may be separated from the second plastics material.

A centrifuge for separating minerals by specific gravity is disclosed. The centrifuge rotates to circulate slurry across a collection region and to subject slurry in the collection region to centripetal forces that facilitate stratification within the collection region by the specific gravity of the constituent minerals of the slurry. Energy, such as acoustic energy, is coupled with the collection region and enhances the stratification by specific gravity within the collection region.

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 centrifuge for separating minerals by specific gravity is disclosed. The centrifuge rotates to circulate slurry across a collection region and to subject slurry in the collection region to centripetal forces that facilitate stratification within the collection region by the specific gravity of the constituent minerals of the slurry. Energy, such as acoustic energy, is coupled with the collection region and enhances the stratification by specific gravity within the collection region.

The invention relates to ferrite filler (solids) for a heavy liquid suspension, a method of preparation thereof from waste materials, in particular electronic waste, and use of ferrite as heavy liquid suspension solids.