The Hindu 11.12.2009
Plastic waste sorting equipment launched
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: And, now technology that helps segregate plastic based on the polymer to curb wastage during recycling or filter out the bad mangoes in the bunch to ensure that only good fruit enters the market.
The Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) unit in Chennai on Wednesday transferred to industry two technologies developed at its laboratories on the Taramani campus of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
The plastic waste sorting system project supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests deploys Near Infra Red (NIR) spectroscopy to identify poly-ethylene terephthelate (PET) materials before recycling. The equipment, which uses NIR rays in the 700-2,500 nano metre electromagnetic spectrum, will segregate different kinds of plastic on a scale of sensor values for each base polymer.
Apart from carrying immense social benefit, the equipment is expected to address a major issue for recycling industries — the enormous wastage when different types of plastic get mixed up during recycling of PET. At present, the equipment can differentiate six types of plastic — poly-ethylene, poly-ethylene terephthelate, poly-propylene, poly-vinyl chloride, high density poly ethylene and poly-styrene. However, the experimental lab model sorts only PET on a throughput of 200 kg per hour. A more diverse differentiation of the plastic types and higher throughput is possible in industrial application, scientists said. The technology was transferred to Bangalore-based Dintis Technologies.
CEERI also showcased a device that segregates good mangoes from the bad at the maturation stage. The X-ray imaging-based mango sorting system uses the same technique deployed at baggage screening at airports and helps detects spongy tissue or seed weevil infestation that are not apparent externally. The machine is useful for traders exporting bulk quantities of exotic varieties such as the Alphonse mango. The research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology uses non-destructive screening of mangoes and maps the x-ray image for internal decay. In lab conditions the equipment with a capacity for scanning 1.2 tonnes of mangoes per hour achieved a detection accuracy rate of 95 per cent for spongy tissue and 98 per cent for seed weevil. The technology was transferred to Proteck Circuits and Systems in Chennai.
Pilani-headquartered CEERI Director Chandra Shekhar exchanged the technology transfer agreements with K. Balasubramanian, managing director, Proteck Systems and Dintis Thomas, managing director of Dintis Technologies. R. K. Gupta, head, Technology Networking and Business Development, CEERI, Nagesh Iyer, Director, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Chander Parkash, DST scientist were present.
