Sensor-ID: Materials identification system for the global recycling technology

We propose a groundbreaking concept for the materials identification in recycling technology.

It is based on optical nanoantenna tags that both are extremely sensitive to the properties of a material and simultaneously spectroscopically encode multiple parameters that potentially include all special requirements for a given material´s recycling procedure.

The tags are applicable for essentially any kind of material (plastic, glass, metal, cardboard and many others) to be recycled.

Moreover, the tags could be placed on a material or an object either by the manufacturer or already at the recycling site independently, while carrying exactly the same information. The tags are read-out remotely by detecting reflected white light in a simple and affordable setting. The proposed technology is scalable and can be automated for industrial recycling streams.

The project will study the fundamentals of such tags and as a result will design the tags with optimal performance on several selected materials, and will also build a machine learning-powered materials database to be used with the tags.

The project involves research in nanotechnology and materials technology in recycling streams, uniting the competences of fundamental materials science at UGOT and applied technology at RISE.