Plastics Identification System

Hamos GmbH of Penzberg, Germany, also has an IR-based plastics identification system for recycling applications. The compaw also manufactures equipment for color sorting that can be used in recycling processes. ... 

Applications Rapid industrial polymer identification systems have been developed to sort plastic components in cars, plastics used in the building and construction industry and plastic films. In recycling of plastics... 

Your company wants to use the SPI plastics identification symbol on all components of its package systems, including caps, lids, pouches, etc. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so Would you favor such a policy Discuss. 

A similar system working with fluorescent tracer molecules has been developed within a European research project [16]. The material is identified by exposure to an excitation beam, as shown in Figure 3.5, which make the tracers emit their characteristic fluorescent signals. These signals are analysed by the identification system. Subsequently, a sorting machine is activated, which rejects unidentified plastics and sorts other plastics by type. 

In most cases, different types of plastics must be recycled separately so that the recycled material has the greatest value and potential use. In 1988 the American Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) introduced a voluntary resin identification system which indicates the type of plastics that an item is made from. The primary purpose of the codes is to allow for efficient separation of different polymer types for recycling. The symbols used in the code consist of arrows that cycle clockwise to form... 

A NIR spectrometer system has been described based on optical fibres for absorption and reflexion measurements, an AOTF and a transputer system. It is able to detect 1,000 spectra per second and to identify 20 pieces per second (209). The identification system was implemented and tested for a real-world application of plastic identification in municipal solid waste. 

In Japan the Biodegradable Plastics Society (BPS), an industry group, established the GreenPla identification system in Jime 2000 based on examinations of the experiment and assessment methods for biodegradable plastics and their safety that MEU (then the Ministry of International Trade and Indrrstry) carried orrt fiom 1989 to 1999 [31]. GreerrPla is nickname for biodegradable... 

Plastics identification by spectroscopic techniques has increasingly focused on the use of near-infrared and Raman spectroscopic techniques. LLA Instruments, in conjunction with Daimler-Chrysler [78] have developed a superfast near-infrared (NIR) sensor system that has been used to separate mixed plastics by type from shredded automotive parts. NIR spectroscopy uses the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (from about 800 to 2500 nm). Their two-phase process initially separates bright and colored polymers and black polypropylene from the mix. A second long-wavelength NIR sensor is employed to then separate black plastics such as PC, PMMA, ABS, PC/ABS blends, and others. 

Spectracode, Inc. s RP-1 Polymer identification system for sorting plastics, www.epa.gov/ncer/ sbir/success/pdf/spectracode success.pdf 2015. 

A multidimensional system using capillary SEC-GC-MS was used for the rapid identification of various polymer additives, including antioxidants, plasticizers, lubricants, flame retardants, waxes and UV stabilizers (12). This technique could be used for additives having broad functionalities and wide volatility ranges. The determination of the additives in polymers was carried out without performing any extensive manual sample pretreatment. In the first step, microcolumn SEC excludes the polymer matrix from the smaller-molecular-size additives. There is a minimal introduction of the polymer into the capillary GC column. Optimization of the pore sizes of the SEC packings was used to enhance the resolution between the polymer and its additives, and smaller pore sizes could be used to exclude more of the polymer... 

---