3674 2025 2025 eng 4 1 article 0 -- 2025-03-17 -- As part of the so-called interfacial separation techniques, selective particle ag- glomeration is one of the few options that are suitable for the separation of heterogeneous, multicomponent systems of particles smaller than 1 μm. In this regard, the component to be separated is exclusively transferred into a coarser size range, so that a material selective size separation by traditional mechanical methods can be achieved. In the presented study, this is demonstrated using heterogeneous suspensions of ceramic and organic particles, from which the separation of the inorganic material is pursued subsequent to the targeted control of the material-specific, electrostatic particle–particle interaction. Resulting from theoretical considerations on these interactions, favorable conditions for the selective agglomeration can be predicted. Experimental data reveal that for suitable param- eters, resulting from variations in interfacial particle properties, particle size, and the composition of the dispersions, a separation efficiency of up to 97% can be obtained. Thereby, the importance of the particle-number fraction as an adjustable parameter needs to be clearly emphasized. Since a separation of the agglomerates can be achieved by simply using centrifugal forces, the shown technique is easy to apply and valuable for various industrial fields such as chemical and pharmaceutical engineering or recycling processes. In addition, no external additives are required for selective agglomeration, eliminating the risk of secondary contamination. Powders 10.3390/powders4010008 Begutachtet/Reviewed publish false false Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International Christoph Peppersack Arno Kwade Sandra Breitung-Faes eng uncontrolled selective agglomeration; particle interactions; separation; heterogeneous suspensions; DLVO theory Materialien & Produktionstechnik Partikeltechnologien, Rohstoffinnovationen und Ressourceneffizienz