Development of a terahertz-based sorting system for processing solid waste

每年，全球约有1000万吨电子垃圾塑料被处理，其中一半是黑色塑料。为了回收利用，塑料必须根据其组成聚合物进行分类。目前大多数工业回收商使用的光学分选技术 ** 无法检测黑色塑料的聚合物成分 **，而黑色塑料通常用于电子产品。该项目将通过加速开发新型太赫兹（THz）传感器阵列技术来克服黑色塑料电子垃圾的挑战。由TeTechS开发的小型THz传感器已成功检测 ** 并以90%的准确率对黑色塑料进行分类。在这一成功的基础上，并利用Conestoga的专业知识和光学分选技术，合作伙伴将创建一个全面的，行业准备的工作原型太赫兹传感器阵列，满足回收行业的精度和速度标准。拟议中的THz传感器阵列是一种“插入式”技术，可以添加到回收公司广泛使用的现有光学分拣机 ** 中，从而以最小的 ** 工程优化此类机器的分拣能力。通过成功地将太赫兹工业传感器阵列商业化用于电子塑料分拣，** 技术的最终用户，加拿大回收公司，将直接从这一提高效率 ** 和输出纯度的创新中受益。作为THz技术的第一个完全工业化的应用，该项目将催化THz应用研究领域的知识创造，超越回收领域，影响各种产品的制造，并影响加拿大经济的多个部门。它还将使加拿大在这项有影响力和广泛适用的技术方面处于领先地位。

Every year, approximately 10 million tons of e-waste plastics are disposed of globally; half of that are black**plastics. To be recycled, plastics must be sorted according to their constituent polymers. Current optical sorting**technology that is used by most industrial recyclers cannot detect the polymer composition of black plastics,**which are commonly used in electronics.**This project will overcome the black plastic e-waste challenge by accelerating the development of a novel**terahertz (THz) sensor array technology. A small THz sensor, developed by TeTechS, has successfully detected**and sorted black plastics with 90% accuracy. Building on that success and utilizing Conestoga's expertise and**know-how of optical sorting technologies, the collaborating partners will create a full-scale, industry-ready**working prototype THz-sensor array which meets the recycling industry's standards for precision and speed.**The proposed THz sensor array is a "drop-in" technology that can be added to existing optical sorting machines**that are widely used by recycling companies, thus optimizing such machines' sorting capacity with minimal**engineering.**By successfully commercializing the THz industrial sensor array for e-plastic sorting, end-users of the**technology, Canadian recycling companies, will directly profit from this innovation which improves efficiency**and output purity. As the first fully industrialized application of THz technology, the project will catalyze**knowledge-creation in THz applied research beyond the field of recycling, influencing the manufacture of**diverse products and affecting multiple sectors of the Canadian economy. It will also place Canada at the**leading edge of this influential and broadly applicable technology.