HiSEEK
Smart Sensor Network for Recycling of Black Plastic
THE CHALLENGE
We propose a new workflow for single-step, sensor-based, AI-driven identification of polymers to boost plastic sorting in recycling lines. Recycling of industrial plastics is currently limited to ca. 10%. The bottleneck is the material identification in complex streams (e.g. e-waste, end-of-life vehicles). Sensors available in the market fail to detect additives or complex polymers, resulting in contaminated streams which cannot be recycled. Recyclers must reach 25% efficiency to reach EU guidelines (by 2030).
OUR SOLUTION
Our technology integrates adapted sensors, real-time machine learning and smart measurement sampling. Each sensor is validated for ID of simple plastics, plastic blends, and black plastics in conditions comparable to industry (TRL 5). We demonstrated that the approach works on ID of up to 75% of particles in the stream (increase of 65% compared to SOTA).
Industry: Waste management and recycling
Area of Application: Real-time identification of complex polymers in industrial recycling lines
Transfer Path: Spin-off / licensing technologies
Target Group: Plastic recyclers, recycling plant integrators
PROJECT LANDSCAPE
Name: Dr. Andréa de Lima Ribeiro
Institution: HZDR e.V. - Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF)
Department: Exploration
LET'S CONNECT AND CO-CREATE
