Sorting plastic bottles for recycling
AssigneeRutgers, The State University
InventorsHenry Frankel, Sergey Miroshnichenko, Jonathan B. Whitlock
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for sorting plastic bottles for recycling wherein if it is first determined that a bottle is clear, the bottle will be ejected. If the bottle is not determined as being clear, the apparatus or method next determines if the bottle is colored. If the bottle is colored, the bottle will be ejected. The above method may also be accomplished by use of a truth table which analyzes the characteristics of a bottle. Also provided is a detector for detecting the presence of chlorine in a plastic bottle by means of X-ray fluorescence. A sorter device sorts the bottles into small diameter and large diameter bottles.
Claims23
A method of sorting bottles for recycling comprising the steps of
- conveying a bottle via a conveying means to a first sensing area, determining whether said bottle is clear while said bottle is in said first sensing area and removing said bottle from said conveying means to a pile of clear bottles if said bottle is clear, and
- if said bottle is not removed in said first sensing area, conveying the bottle via said conveying means to a second, separate sensing area, determining whether said bottle is colored while said bottle is in said second sensing area and removing said bottle from said conveying means to a pile of colored bottles if said bottle is colored.
A method of determining whether plastic bottles for recycling contain chlorine comprising
- irradiating the plastic bottles with X-rays, and
- detecting any secondary X-ray florescence associated with the presence of chlorine.
A method of determining whether bottles are composed of glass, or one or more of a group of materials comprising polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinylidine chlorine (PVDC) comprising
- disposing a bottle between a first polarized light emitter and a first polarized light detector,
- emitting circularly polarized light and passing such light through the bottle, and
- determining whether such light has changed polarization by passage through the bottle.
A method of determining the composition of bottles comprising
- disposing a bottle between a first polarized light emitter and a first polarized light detector,
- emitting circularly polarized light and passing such light through the bottle, and
- determining whether such light has changed polarization by passage through the bottle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.