Detection system for screening of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) in recycling facilities

废物的处置和管理是一个全球性问题，迫切需要新的技术解决方案来实现安全、高效、经济的固体废物再利用和回收，以促进可持续性和循环经济。家用产品可能是无害的，但当它们相互混合时也可能有毒。含有有害成分的产品，如油漆清洁剂、油、电池和杀虫剂，在处理前可能需要特别处理。家用产品的残留物可能含有化学物质，如果使用不当会造成安全风险。家庭危险废物的分类、分类和记录是一个耗时和昂贵的过程，需要熟练和训练有素的人员。人们对新技术和物联网（IoT）越来越感兴趣，以实现废物的自动分类和分类，以减少传统方法中必要的人力劳动负担。我们的第一个研究目标是开发软件，处理HHW容器的图像数据，以识别产品类型和相关危害。扫描软件将识别和识别WHIMIS符号，标签成分和UPC条形码。我们的第二个目标是将扫描仪与气体传感技术相结合，该技术将对有害的HHW排放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）进行分类。HHW VOCs剖面将由传感器阵列组成，该传感器阵列将以高灵敏度检测目标VOCs，并区分混合物中存在的不同VOCs。传感器阵列将进行优化，以保持较低的采样时间，从而能够快速或近实时地监测组装成便携式VOC分析器的VOC。最后，这两种技术将结合成一个简单的扫描仪装置，该装置集成了VOC传感器，可以根据危险类别和可回收性自动对含有未知或有害废物的HHW物品进行分类。组合式扫描仪和VOC分析器将在1年的快速发展期后进行原型和现场测试。拟议的技术将是加拿大回收设施的一项有价值的技术解决方案。

Disposal and management of waste are a global problem and new technology solutions are urgently needed to implement safe, efficient, and cost-effective reuse and recycling of solid waste to promote sustainability and circular economy. Household products can be harmless, but they can also be toxic when mixed with each other. Products such as paint cleaners, oils, batteries and pesticides that contain hazardous ingredients may need special handling before disposal. Residues from household products may contain chemicals that pose a safety risk if used improperly. Sorting, classifying and recording of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is a time-consuming and expensive process that requires skilled and trained personnel. There is increasing interest in new technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) to automate the sorting and classification of waste to reduce the burden of human labour necessary in traditional approaches. Our first research objective is to develop software that processes image data of HHW containers to identify the product type and associated hazards. The scanning software will recognize and identify WHIMIS symbols, labeled ingredients, and UPC barcodes. Our second objective is to integrate the scanner with a gas sensing technology that will classify hazardous HHW emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The HHW VOCs profile will be comprised of a sensor array that will detect target VOCs with high sensitivity and distinguish between different VOCs present in a mixture. The sensor array will be optimized to maintain a low sampling time to enable rapid or near-real-time monitoring of VOCs assembled as a portable VOC profiler. Finally, the two technologies will be combined into a simple scanner device integrated with a VOC sensor that can automatically sort and categorize HHW items containing unknown or hazardous waste in terms of hazard category and recyclability. The combination scanner and a VOC profiler will be prototyped and field-tested following a rapid 1-year development period. The proposed technology will be a valuable technology solution for Canadian recycling facilities.