‘We are obtaining 1.3 million spectra per 10- 12cm of conveyor belt movement. Terefore, processing these data amounts fast enough is, besides the optics and sensor tech, key to success’
waste separation plant in collaboration with Newtec Engineering. “We have the first camera prototype in our
lab now and are excited to see what we can get out of it,” Professor Hinge told Imaging and Machine Vision Europe. “We sincerely hope that other camera manufacturers and researchers also work on making better cameras for plastic sorting. But, to the best of my knowledge, there are no cameras on the market that have the specs we are aiming for.” One of the demanding technical tasks is
developing image frequency, i.e. how many images can be acquired per second and how fast the images can be processed and decisions made based on the data. Speed is crucial as tonnes of material is processed each day in recycling plants, of which every square metre needs to be analysed. “As an example, in the current configuration, we are obtaining 1.3 million spectra per 10-12cm of conveyor-belt movement. Terefore, processing these data amounts fast enough is, besides the optics and sensor tech, key to success. Te faster we can process the data, the faster the conveyor belt can run and the higher throughput of recycled plastics,” said Hinge. Te team plans to use AI to help it analyse the spatio- spectral signals. Te sensor can detect light from 415
to 1,850nm, and such a broad spectral range is challenging the current optics, Hinge explained, as most materials are not transparent in both the UV over the visual and into the infrared spectral range. “Tis is also felt with the camera prototype as the current optics (lenses, etc) are not optimal and we do not have full illumination of the sensor yet,” Hine noted. “Tis is, however, one of the tasks that we expect to solve via this project.” Te NewHC project is supported by
Innovation Fund Denmark (grant no: 2105- 00002B) Newtec, University of Southern Denmark, and Aarhus University. It has a total budget of DKK 11.3 million ($1.7 million) and it will run for three years.
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Closing the loop A trend in the plastic industry is the move towards closed-loop recycling, Sesotec’s Eder said during EPIC’s meeting. For example, many companies, such as Coca Cola, are aiming to produce new bottles from their old bottles, Eder added. Te drinks producer is hoping to make its bottles 100% recyclable by 2025. One way companies are closing the
loop is through digital watermarks – imperceptible postage stamp-sized codes printed on plastic packaging – which contain information about the packaging material that can be detected by cameras. Tis is particularly beneficial in the case of bottles and food-grade packaging, which have more stringent requirements; being able to easily identify these plastics will improve the rate at which they are recycled. Te watermarks also allow companies to track their products through their life cycle, helping to trace the rate at which they are recycled and analyse their position within the circular economy. A project, called HolyGrail 2.0, is testing
implementation of digital watermark technology at first semi-industrial and, at a later stage, industrial scale. Tis involves installing new prototype machines, equipped with high-resolution cameras to detect and decode the information carried by the digital watermarks in sorting and recycling centres. Te team, which includes AIM, the
C M Y CM MY CY
European Brands Association, along with Te Alliance to End Plastic Waste, will be assessing how fast and how accurately the watermarks can be tested using existing technology, and how this improves the efficiency of sorting. It is hoped that, if intelligent sorting increases the purity of the recycling feedstock, plastic waste can then enter different recycling streams, such as mechanical or chemical recycling. Tis ultimately results in greater amounts of recycled plastic waste and improves the overall quality of recyclates. In addition to marking plastics entering
the plastics supply chain, altering the chemistry of black plastic material could improve the rate at which it is recycled. Lanxess, a chemicals company based
in Cologne, Germany, is producing an iron oxide pigment for colouring black plastic that reflects 20% of near-infrared radiation. Tis enables plastics to be identified efficiently and cost-effectively with the aid of NIR detectors. Plastic packaging coloured with carbon black does not reflect any radiation and cannot be detected in sorting plants. Te company hopes the new pigment could make a decisive contribution to recycling black plastic packaging. O
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