Patent ID: 8056728

Claim:
A method for separating a mixture of pieces of solid materials, wherein the pieces comprise thermoplastic flakes and one or more components selected from the group consisting of rubber, polymeric foam, textile fragments, and combinations thereof, wherein the thermoplastic flakes have a lower coefficient of friction than the one or more components, the method comprising: incorporating a ferromagnetic particulate material into the mixture of pieces of solid materials, the ferromagnetic particulate material preferentially incorporating into or adhering to the one or more components as compared to the thermoplastic flakes, wherein, after the incorporating step, the one or more components have different magnetic properties; and after the incorporating step, separating the mixture of pieces of solid materials into at least two groups by directing the mixture against at least one surface having a magnetized portion such that each piece travels along two or more paths, wherein pieces of the mixture of solid materials are urged to travel in a first direction based on magnetic forces due to the magnetic properties of each piece and also based on frictional forces due to the frictional properties of each piece, but urged to travel in a second direction based on gravitational forces, such that the one or more components are separated from the thermoplastic flakes due to a combination of each piece's magnetic properties and frictional properties.