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)第二阶段项目将开发一种新型光电传感系统原型，用于金属，特别是铝合金的高速识别和分选。目标是开发将铝分类到其准确的合金名称中的能力。当废料在高速传送带上运动时，这项技术预计将在不到50毫秒的时间内自动分拣每件物品，而无需操作员干预。废品回收行业报告称，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)报告称，每年有超过100亿磅的这些有色金属被丢弃在垃圾填埋场，因为回收无论在技术上还是在经济上都是不切实际的。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，不能按合金类型分选铝。精炼是在建造成本高昂且经常造成污染的冶炼设施中完成的。使用先进的光谱检测技术，包括计算机分析；拟议的技术将提高合金识别精度，并以前所未有的速度自动分选铝金属合金。该项目的商业影响将是提高废钢利用率，增加废钢价值，减轻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.