SBIR Phase II: Detection Systems for High-Speed Optoelectronic Sortation of Low Z Metal Alloys

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发一种新型原型光电传感系统，用于金属，特别是铝合金的高速识别和分类。目标是开发将铝分类为其确切合金名称的能力。该技术有望在废料在高速传送带上运动时，在不需要操作员干预的情况下，在不到50毫秒的时间内自动分拣每件物品。废料回收行业报告称，仅在美国，每年就生产超过300亿磅的有色金属。美国环境保护署（USEPA）报告说，每年有超过100亿磅的有色金属被丢弃在垃圾填埋场，因为回收利用无论是在技术上还是在经济上都不切实际。现有的分选方法采用目测和手工分选，或者采用重介质分离，不能按合金类型对铝进行分选。精炼是在冶炼设施中完成的，这些设施造价昂贵，而且经常造成污染。采用先进的光谱检测技术，包括计算机分析；所提出的技术将提高合金识别的准确性，并以前所未有的速度自动分拣铝合金。该项目的商业影响将是提高废钢利用率，提高废钢价值，减少不可再生资源的压力，减少环境污染。潜在的全球市场每年超过20亿美元。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel prototype optoelectronic sensing system for the high-speed identification and sorting of metals, particularly aluminum alloys. The goal is to develop the capability to sort aluminum into its exact alloy designations. The technology is expected to sort materials in less than 50-milliseconds per item automatically without operator intervention while the scrap is in motion on a high-speed conveyor belt. The scrap recycling industry reports that more than 30 billion pounds of nonferrous metals are produced each year in the U.S. alone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) reports that more than 10 billion pounds of these nonferrous metals are discarded each year in landfills, because recycling is either technically or economically impractical. Existing methods of sortation that employ visual examination and hand sortation, or alternatively employ heavy media separation, cannot sort aluminum by alloy type. Refining is accomplished in smelting facilities that are expensive to build and often polluting. Using advanced spectrographic detection techniques, including computer analysis; the proposed technology will improve alloy identification accuracy and automatically sort aluminum metal alloys at speeds never before attainable. The commercial impact of this project will be increased scrap utilization, increased scrap value, reduced pressure on non-renewable resources, and reduced environmental pollution. The potential worldwide market exceeds $2 billion annually.