TECHNOLOGY | ANTICOUNTERFEITING
monitoring of plastics throughout the value chain. The reciChain platform was first piloted by BASF in Brazil, where it is said to have improved transpar- ency and compliance with recycling documenta- tion. Early this year, BASF launched a further reciChain pilot in British Columbia, Canada, as a collaborative effort with several companies and retailers along the value chain to demonstrate circularity—not only recycling, but using the material over again in multiple “loops”.
Above: The combination of digital markers with blockchain data security is being explored by BASF to underpin claims of production circularity
In addition, Circularise is building an Open
Standard for Sustainability and Transparency. This is described as a decentralised information platform that enables anonymous information exchange and uses “material passports” to give materials an identity and trace them using a variety of identifi- ers, including QR codes and embedded tags or markers. This information (raw material composi- tion, material origin, for example) can be used to make plastics more “circular” in several ways, including allowing recyclers to sort materials more specifically and to identify a material’s source. In a new project with Porsche, Circularise,
Borealis, Covestro, and Domo Chemicals are using traceability to track sustainability metrics of the materials in the supply chain for Porsche cars. “For us, it is really important to share information and be more transparent while maintaining confidentiality,” says Burkhard Zimmermann, Head of Resin, Digital Transformation & Sustainability in Covestro’s Polycarbonates segment. “For instance, the material composition is of competitive advantage so we would never share that openly. Here, Circularise helps us to maintain this confidentiality and only disclose the information needed from raw material producer to recycler. And with that, we can close the loop.” The Circularise Plastics Group (Circularise, Domo Chemicals and Covestro) recently an- nounced a collaboration with the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) to develop a tool to monitor the use of recycled plastics. This year the companies are working on finding synergies between the Circularise and MORE (Monitoring Reyclates for Europe) systems and identifying companies that want to test it for reporting of the use of recycled plastics.
Blockchain and digital badge and loop count technology is also being evaluated by BASF to share data and improve sorting, tracing, and
60 COMPOUNDING WORLD | December 2020
Blockchain tracking The reciChain pilot uses marker technology from Australia’s Security Matters to mark plastic materials and code them with information associ- ated with the material. These markers are com- pounded into the polymer and can be read with the company’s detectors to track the physical movement of the plastic material. The physical object is connected to a digital record that goes with it throughout its lifecycle, explains Haggai Alon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Security Matters. A blockchain-based platform takes the digital records and makes them visible to various stakeholders throughout the value chain. Last month, the project collaborators reported
that the reciChain pilot had successfully demon- strated the ability to track material through the value chain for a rigid HDPE bottle and a flexible PE stand-up pouch. The technology was proven in a small, controlled environment; the next step is likely to include further development of the technology and testing at a larger scale. “By providing transparency of product lifecycles, we can create an entire technology-driven ecosys- tem that promotes circularity and sustainability for plastics. Together we can accelerate the progress of the plastic industry towards a more innovative, resilient and productive economy,” says Alon.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.trutags.com �
www.gabriel-chemie.com �
www.microtracesolutions.com �
www.polysecure.eu �
www.addmaster.co.uk �
www.sensorinstruments.de �
www.dotz.tech �
www.digimarc.com �
www.nextek.org �
www.nextloopp.com �
www.circularise.com �
www.covestro.com �
www.basf.com �
www.securitymattersltd.com
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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