Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 30

PRSE
continued from page 29
moving fast. The digital watermark
technology-based HolyGrail
2.0 initiative that is set to
make intelligent waste sorting a
reality is commencing semi-industrial
trials in Copenhagen
this month. The technology,
based on the digital watermarks
developed by US-based
Digimarc Corporation, enables
the precision identification and
sorting of plastic packaging
collected for recycling, which
ultimately will yield higher quality
recyclates to be channelled
back into the plastic packaging
value chain. The watermarks
themselves are imperceptible
codes, each the size of a postage
stamp that cover the surface
of a consumer goods packaging
and carry a wide range
of attributes such as packaging
type, material and usage. Used
packaging is collected and
scanned on the sorting line with
a high-resolution camera which
detects and decodes the digital
watermark. The packaging is
then sorted into corresponding
streams, based on specified
attributes including food,
non-food or polymer types. The
two machine vendors in the
project, Pellenc ST and Tomra,
are working with Digimarc, to
develop add-on modules for
their detection sorting units, to
be combined with existing NIR
(near infra-red) sorters.
The increase in post-consumer
waste recycling, in part
due to improvements in efficiency
and technology and
partly because of the European
Union's goal specifying that
by 2025, fifty percent of plastic
packaging waste must be recycled,
has also has a number of
tangible effects. One, says EREMA,
is the noticeable increase in
demand for recycling machine
combinations that address the
problem of odour in contaminated
household waste such as
LDPE films, HDPE containers
and PE closures. The company
has developed a ReFresher
technology that substantially
reduces odour downstream of
the extrusion process.
The need for additional technologies
able to recycle the vast
mountains of post-consumer
plastic waste generated around
the world has also spawned efforts
to develop new, 'advanced'
recycling technologies that
enable hitherto 'unrecyclable'
plastics to be recycled. Depolymerisation,
pyrolysis, solvolysis,
gasification - an estimated
70 or so such plants, from labscale
to industrial scale, have
been commissioned around the
world, with a collective capacity
of 1.1 million tonnes. Many of
these projects are collaborative
in nature, often consisting of
partnerships between raw material
producers and technology
suppliers. Such plants involve
investment commitments - both
financial and in technology. The
level of interest in these developments,
too, is extremely high.
These and other topics will be
explored during the two days of
the PRSE. And as a hybrid event,
people unable to visit the event in
person will also be able to to view
elements of the two-day conference
programme via livestream,
including the announcement of
winners of the Plastics Recycling
Awards Europe. Online-only visitors
will also be able to interact
directly with exhibitors.
PRSE organisers are working
closely with the RAI to ensure
all visitors enjoy a covid-secure
event. This will include following
the latest guidelines from
the Government of The Netherlands
and the National Institute
for Public Health and the
Environment (RIVM) to ensure
business exhibitions and conferences
can take place safely.
30
October 2021
http://www.fimic.it
Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

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