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。要回收塑料，必须根据其组成的聚合物进行分类。目前大多数工业回收商使用的光学分类**技术无法检测电子产品中常用的黑色塑料**的聚合物组成。**该项目将通过加快开发新型**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。TeTechS开发的一种小型太赫兹传感器已成功检测**并分类黑色塑料，准确率为90%。在这一成功的基础上，并利用Conestoga在光学分类技术方面的专业知识和**技术诀窍，合作伙伴将创建一种全面的、行业就绪的**工作THz传感器阵列，该阵列符合回收行业的精度和速度标准。**拟议的THz传感器阵列是一种可以添加到回收公司广泛使用的现有光学分选机**的“插入式”技术，从而以最少的**工程优化此类机器的分类能力。**通过成功地将用于电子塑料分类的THz工业传感器阵列商业化，**技术的最终用户、加拿大回收公司、将直接受益于这一提高效率**和产品纯度的创新。作为太赫兹技术的第一个完全工业化应用，该项目将催化太赫兹应用研究中的知识创造，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。它还将使加拿大处于这项有影响力和广泛适用的技术的**前沿。

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.