Computer-implemented methods and systems for digitally controlling and / or monitoring the industrial production of chemical products based on recyclable waste materials.

Abstract

Disclosed are computer-implemented methods and systems for controlling and / or monitoring the production of products, particularly chemical products, by production equipment using one or more input raw materials, wherein at least one of the input raw materials is a recyclable raw material derived from waste collected by an individual or legal entity, and the method includes the following process steps: - verifying the identity of an individual / legal entity of one or more collected waste raw materials suitable as at least one type of recyclable raw material derived from waste used as an input raw material to the production equipment; - collecting one or more raw material parameters of the collected waste raw materials from a local or external raw material database; - generating tokens based on the collected one or more raw material parameters; and - assigning the generated tokens to the verified identity of an individual / legal entity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a method and system for digitally controlling and / or monitoring the industrial production of chemical products based at least in part on recyclable waste materials.

Background Art

[0002] Background Art In many fields of industrial production, particularly in the field of chemical production, an important aspect of environmental protection of products made from raw materials and corresponding sustainable production is the use of recyclable waste materials as input materials into the production process.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0003] Summary of the Invention The underlying idea of the present disclosure is to increase transparency regarding the raw material quality of recyclable waste materials recovered for recycling and correspondingly reusing as input materials into the production process. Thereby, heat recovery of such recyclable waste materials, for example by incineration of waste or storage in landfill sites, can be avoided.

[0004] Such suitable waste for recycling is not only in the field of the circular economy and corresponding recycling processes, but also plastic which greatly contributes to the consideration obtained by recyclers (individuals or corporations). For this reason, mention is also made of the increasing marine pollution caused by plastic waste.

[0005] According to the underlying concept of the present disclosure, this transparency is achieved by controlling or monitoring with high reliability the origin of such waste materials, that is, based on verification of the identity of the individuals or corporations who are the entities recovering such waste materials targeted for recovery. Thereby, for example, by using chemical recycling processes, the risk of recovering non-recyclable waste can be minimized.

[0006] In many countries, it is already common practice for end consumers (i.e., individuals) and / or recycling centers (i.e., corporations) to collect and sort waste based on the recyclability of the underlying waste materials. Recyclable waste materials thus collected, provided they contain a certain minimum quality, can be used solely as input for the aforementioned chemical recycling (also known as "chemicycling") processes, rather than for thermal recycling through incineration.

[0007] To ensure that such quality requirements for recovered waste materials are documented, a certification process is disclosed according to a second aspect of this disclosure. The prerequisite certification may be based on waste material-related data objects, which preferably include data on the quantity and chemical composition of the waste, the location or source of the recovered waste, and social attributes gathered through the aforementioned identification process.

[0008] The aforementioned chemicycling process specifically utilizes a raw material processing step that employs pyrolysis and a raw material processing step that employs a cracker, and combines these to enable the conversion or transformation of, for example, bulk plastic parts into short-chain hydrocarbons that can be used as input raw materials for subsequent chemical production processes.

[0009] The ecosystem further proposed herein includes a circular recycling process which may include the following entities or participants: - Individuals or corporations that collect recyclable waste materials (e.g., recycling centers) - Waste management organizations (or environmental protection associations) that calculate the fees paid to waste providers. - Recycling companies, e.g., private or public entities - Operators of waste incineration plants or landfill operators - Product producers operating processing facilities / plants that include raw material processing processes utilizing pyrolysis and raw material processing processes utilizing steam crackers. A waste management agency or environmental protection organization may be an authorized entity that generates waste material-related raw material data, for example, by using portable devices to scan the underlying waste material in order to determine or detect the type and / or quality of the underlying waste material.

[0010] According to a first aspect of a computer-implemented method disclosed herein for controlling and / or monitoring the production of a product, particularly a chemical product, using production equipment with one or more input raw materials, the input raw material is a recyclable raw material derived from waste materials collected by an individual or legal entity, and the method is described in the following process steps: - A step to verify the identity of an individual / corporation that provides one or more recovered waste materials that are potentially suitable as recyclable raw materials derived from at least one type of waste used as input material to production equipment, - A step of collecting one or more raw material parameters of the recovered waste raw material from a local or external raw material database in order to determine its suitability as a raw material to be input into the production equipment, - A step of generating a token based on the results of verifying the identity of an individual / corporation and the contents of one or more collected raw material parameters, - This includes the step of assigning the generated tokens to the verified identity of an individual / legal entity.

[0011] According to another aspect of the method disclosed herein, the production of the product is controlled and / or monitored based on one or more recovered raw material parameters and / or on a determination of the suitability of recovered waste raw materials as input raw materials to the production equipment.

[0012] According to another aspect of the method disclosed herein, the collection of one or more raw material parameters of the provided waste may be based on one or more acquired physical identifiers associated with the corresponding recyclable waste raw material.

[0013] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, one or more physical identifiers may be acquired using a portable device that provides mass spectrometry and / or IR detection measurement capabilities. An example of such a portable device is the "Mobile NIR Spectroscopy Solution" developed and sold by trinimiX GmbH. However, trinimiX GmbH also provides suitable measurement solutions that can be implemented in conventional smartphones, enabling individuals to acquire such physical identifiers.

[0014] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, the collection of one or more material parameters of one or more recovered waste materials provided may be based on one or more received virtual identifiers associated with the corresponding recyclable waste materials.

[0015] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, the assigned tokens may be provided to an authorized body to evaluate the compensation based on one or more collected material parameters of the recovered material. This allows for appropriate compensation to be given to individuals / corporations who have provided one or more types of recovered waste material. The suitability of these provided waste materials as recyclable materials derived from waste to be used as input materials to production equipment may be verified, specifically based on the recovered material parameters and in combination with the physical or virtual identifier associated with the corresponding recyclable material.

[0016] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, for the purpose of the reward described above, the allocated tokens may be provided to an individual / corporation, including consideration for one or more collected material parameters of one or more types of recyclable materials.

[0017] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, a waste material-related data object can be generated using the verified identity of an individual / legal entity to verify whether the collection of the provided waste material is permitted or valid, based on one or more collected material parameters of the collected waste material and based on the acquired physical identifier or received virtual identifier.

[0018] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, access authorization to such generated data objects may be controlled by at least one authorization rule associated with a unique identifier in order to verify that the collection of the provided recyclable materials is permitted.

[0019] According to further embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, at least one approval rule may also be configured to perform reverse data tracking of one or more recovered waste materials used in the production of the product.

[0020] In a further embodiment of the method disclosed herein, the production facility may include a pyrolysis step and a cracking step that convert the provided waste into recyclable waste-derived materials used as input raw materials for the production of the product.

[0021] In another embodiment, the method disclosed herein may also be used to control and / or monitor the recovery of waste suitable as recyclable raw material derived from at least one type of waste used as input raw material to a production facility for producing a product, the suitability of such waste being verified by the method described in any one of the preceding claims.

[0022] Furthermore, the document also discloses software-implemented product elements that, when running on a computer, may be used to verify the identity of the aforementioned individuals / corporations of one or more recovered waste materials suitable as recyclable raw materials derived from at least one type of waste used as input raw materials for production equipment.

[0023] This specification also discloses a computer-implemented system for controlling and / or monitoring the production of products by a production facility that uses one or more input raw materials, particularly in the production of chemical products, where at least one of the input raw materials is a recyclable raw material derived from waste recovered by an individual or a corporation according to a first aspect, and the following process steps: - A step of verifying the identity of an individual / corporation providing one or more recovered waste raw materials suitable as at least one recyclable raw material derived from waste to be used as an input raw material to the production facility; - A step of collecting one or more raw material parameters of the recovered waste raw materials from a local or external raw material database; - A step of generating a token based on the one or more collected raw material parameters; - It includes a control unit configured to perform a step of assigning the generated token to the verified identity of the individual / corporation.

[0024] According to another aspect of the system disclosed in this specification, the production of products is controlled and / or monitored based on the one or more collected raw material parameters.

[0025] According to a further aspect of the system disclosed in this specification, the raw material database may be a database arranged in a distributed network of nodes that share data with each other to store available raw material parameters of multiple types of recoverable waste raw materials suitable as input raw materials for the production of products, particularly chemical products.

[0026] In the field of chemical recycling, with regard to the suitability as an input raw material, the following three exemplary raw materials or substance categories A) to C) can be distinguished: A) Raw materials suitable for chemical recycling, i.e., raw materials that have a beneficial impact on the environment: Polymers, such as substances containing a large amount of solid hydrocarbons like polyethylene (HPDE, LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (EPS), polyisoprene, polyisobutylene, polybutadiene, etc. B) Raw materials that are not particularly suitable for chemical recycling, i.e., raw materials with a moderate environmental impact: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester (PES), polyamide (PA), such as nylon, nylon 6 and nylon 6.6, polyurethane (PU), epoxy resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethacrylate (PMMA), polylactic acid (PLA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and hydrocarbon-containing raw materials derived from wood, agricultural products and algae. C) Raw materials unsuitable for chemical recycling, i.e., raw materials that have no environmental impact or even have an adverse impact on the environment: Teflon® (PTFE), silicon, glass, pigments, metals, and metal-containing materials including raw materials such as (Pb, Hg, As, Zn, Si, Na, K, Mg, Ni, Cu, ...).

[0027] In a further embodiment of the system disclosed herein, the control unit may be configured to generate waste material-related data objects for verifying the authorized collection of the provided recyclable waste materials based on the verified identity of the individual / legal entity involved.

[0028] According to further embodiments of the system disclosed herein, access authorization to waste material-related data objects generated to verify the authorized collection of provided recyclable waste materials may be controlled by at least one authorization rule associated with a unique identifier.

[0029] In a further embodiment of the system disclosed herein, the production facility may include a pyrolysis step and a cracking step that convert the provided waste material into a recyclable waste-derived material that can be used as input material for the production of products by the production facility.

[0030] The methods and systems disclosed herein enable the operation, control, or monitoring of, for example, the industrial production of chemical products based on recyclable waste materials as inputs to the production process, specifically with the aforementioned transparency regarding the quality of such waste and appropriate compensation for the collection and provision of such waste.

[0031] "The characteristic of being a data object related to waste raw materials can be implemented using common data encryption technologies such as known blockchain approaches."

[0032] The approval rules described above may relate to instructions that, based on the event triggers described above, process the waste material-related raw material characteristic data specified by the approval rules to generate and provide corresponding tracking data. The approval rules may relate to or include such event triggers relating to the use of chemical products to manufacture the underlying waste material or product. Such use of waste material-related data may include any processing of unique identifiers associated with the underlying chemical products and / or data relating to the underlying chemical products. For example, the linking or association of unique identifiers associated with waste material or products manufactured based on the underlying chemical products with unique identifiers associated with the chemical products and / or data relating to the chemical products may be an event trigger specified by the approval rules.

[0033] At least one approval rule may be associated with at least one event trigger relating to the use of a unique identifier associated with a prerequisite chemical product and / or data relating to the prerequisite chemical product. The approval rule may be associated with or include at least one command based on an event trigger. An event trigger for backtracking a chemical product from a current waste material or product may be associated with one or more processing steps relating to a unique identifier and / or data relating to the chemical product being backtracked. The event trigger can trigger or initialize a command that generates tracking data from product data to provide such tracking data.

[0034] Approval rules may also relate to the specifications of tracking data derived from product data associated with waste raw materials or products manufactured using or based on prerequisite chemical products. Approval rules may specify tracking data based on product data associated with waste raw materials or products manufactured using or based on chemical products. Approval rules may specify tracking data to be derived from product data associated with waste raw materials or products manufactured using or based on chemical products. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0035] [Figure 1] This shows the conventional pyrolysis and cracking processes. [Figure 2] A system based on pyrolysis and a modified version of the process shown in Figure 1 are presented. [Figure 3A] One embodiment of the method disclosed herein is shown by a combination of block and flow diagrams. [Figure 3B] This document illustrates one embodiment of a token-based identity verification system. [Figure 4] This shows how the waste material-related data objects are implemented. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0036] Embodiment In much of the field of industrial production technology, particularly in the area of ​​chemical production, waste management is known to be based on different waste categories, such as recyclable or recycled, reused, recycled, renewable, or reusable raw materials. In the chemical field, these raw materials may also include biomass-based raw materials or raw materials derived from renewable energy.

[0037] In the field of chemical recycling, factors that contribute to the environmental burden of chemical raw materials or substances include their hydrocarbon content, heating level, heteroatom content following C and H, H2O content, biomass content, metal content, hydrocarbon molecular weight, composite material content (e.g., multilayer packaging or wind blades containing glass fibers), overall density, difference in raw material specific density, particle size, raw material distribution, and degree of polymer (Poyler) crosslinking or coloration.

[0038] Furthermore, such industrial waste materials can impact known "material balance" approaches that allow for the determination of whether to use chemically recycled or bio-based materials in the final product. Such material balance approaches allow for the use of both recycled and unused materials, or both bio-based and fossil materials, in the manufacturing process.

[0039] More specifically, the material balance approach allows for the determination of the mass fraction of the main components of high-purity organic raw materials. Thus, the material balance approach is a transparent bookkeeping process, similar to the management chain approach, that allows for the tracking of the net quantity of sustainable raw materials as they move throughout the production system, value chain, or supply chain. Based on this auditable bookkeeping, the material balance approach ensures that these raw materials are appropriately allocated to the finished product.

[0040] Therefore, such industrial waste has a strong impact on environmental treatment approaches based on carbon dioxide emissions and the management of related CO2 certifications.

[0041] In the field of chemical production, for example, the so-called "chemicycling" approach, based on pyrolysis processes or chemical production processes for processing naphtha and bio-based naphtha, is well known.

[0042] Today, production equipment and plants used in different industrial production areas, including prerequisite energy flows, prerequisite logistics, and given infrastructure, are intelligently networked with one another in a so-called "Verbund" system. In such a system, for example, chemical processes can be carried out in different production plants or equipment that may be dispersed across different countries or regions, which are subject to the aforementioned cross-border problems. In such a dispersed system, the prerequisite chemical processes can be carried out using resources efficiently, with low energy consumption and high yield.

[0043] In the case of a chemical verbund system, the complete value chain of such a verbund includes, for example, at least one steam cracker and a synthesis gas plant. The synthesis gas plant, as defined herein, is a core element of the verbund. In this value chain, the prerequisite chemical products can be further processed through further production process steps to become multiple commercial products. The aim is to ensure that nothing is wasted throughout the entire production process, and that by-products generated at one facility can serve as valuable inputs at another facility.

[0044] A known "Verbund production system" may also include an efficient value chain ranging from basic chemicals to high-value-added products such as coatings or crop protection agents. In this scenario, by-products from one plant can also be used as starting materials for another plant. In such a Verbund system, the underlying chemical processes consume less energy, produce higher product yields, and conserve resources. In this way, raw materials and energy are saved, emissions are minimized, logistics costs are reduced, and production-related synergies can be leveraged.

[0045] The production "Verbund" (or network) thus ensures the competitive supply of key products to all segments that have a value chain routed through the Verbund. This specification distinguishes between "Technology Verbund" and "Digital Verbund." A "Technology Verbund" leverages technological advantages across all segments through breadth, impact, and best-in-class expertise, such as biotechnology science, catalysts, and formulation platforms. A "Digital Verbund" systematically incorporates the significant benefits and possibilities of digitalization across the entire production Verbund network in terms of data management, scale, artificial intelligence, etc.

[0046] Referring here to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022 / 0402860A1, shown in Figure 1, the above-described pyrolysis and cracking processes are described in more detail. In this chemical production scenario, alkanolamines are produced downstream of a cracker 20, such as a cracking furnace, and are appropriately separated by a solid separator or fractionator 30. More specifically, Figure 1 shows a method for separating one or more recycled component compositions into r-compositions using a recycled component pyrolysis oil composition (r-pyrolysis oil). Naturally, this specification shows only one of many products that can be produced. Furthermore, it should be noted that the illustrated mixed raw materials may be supplied to the cracker simultaneously, and / or may be pre-mixed (see, for example, Figure 5) before being supplied as mixed raw materials.

[0047] One or more recycled component compositions, i.e., the “r-compositions” described above, may be ethylene, propylene, butadiene, hydrogen, and / or pyrolysis gasoline. The recycled waste can be pyrolyzed in the pyrolysis unit 10 to produce pyrolysis products or waste liquid containing a pyrolysis oil composition of recycled components ("r-pyrolysis oil"). The r-pyrolysis oil may be supplied to the cracker 20 together with non-recycled cracker feed, such as propone, ethane, and / or natural gasoline. The recycled contents decomposition waste liquid ("r-decomposition waste liquid") may be generated from the cracker and then separated in a separation train, such as a solids separator or fractionator 30.

[0048] At least a portion of the composition is obtained from recycled waste, such as waste plastics or from the pyrolysis of waste streams. "r-ethylene" may be ethylene obtained from the decomposition of cracker feed containing r-pyrolysis oil, or a composition containing ethylene having a recycled content value at least a portion of ethylene. "r-propylene" may be propylene obtained from the decomposition of cracker feed containing r-pyrolysis oil, or a composition containing propylene having a recycled content value at least a portion of propylene.

[0049] The corresponding values, "Recycled Content Value" and "r-Value," represent the actual units of measurement for the scale that expresses the actual amount of raw materials originating from recycled waste. The r-Value may originate from any type of recycled waste processed by any type of process.

[0050] The values ​​"pyrolysis recycling content value" and "pr-value" refer to the actual units of measurement that represent the actual amount of raw materials originating from the pyrolysis of recycled waste. The pr-value is a specific subset / type of the aforementioned r-value linked to the pyrolysis of recycled waste. Therefore, the term r-value encompasses but is not mandatory for the pr-value.

[0051] Specific recycled content values, i.e., r-values ​​or pr-values, may be calculated or determined by mass, percentage, or any other arbitrary unit of measurement, and may be determined in accordance with a standard system for tracking, allocating, and / or crediting the actual recycled content of various compositions. The recycled content values ​​may be deducted from the actual recycled content inventory and applied to the product or composition to attribute the cause of recycled content to the product or composition.

[0052] The values ​​“pyrolysis recycling content allocation” and “pyrolysis allocation” or “pr-value” refer to the actual pyrolysis recycling content transferred from either the original composition, e.g., compounds, polymers, raw materials, products, or the flow obtained from the pyrolysis of recycled waste. In the latter case, the recycling content value, or at least a portion thereof, may originate from the pyrolysis of recycled waste.

[0053] Referring again to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022 / 0402860A1, Figure 2 shows a simplified modification of the pyrolysis-based system and process shown in Figure 1, in which "purification" is used instead of "hydrogenation," and one or more recycled wastes are converted at least partially, in particular recycled plastic waste, into various useful r-products.

[0054] The exemplary pyrolysis system 110 shown in Figure 2 may be used to convert one or more recycled wastes, particularly recycled plastic waste, into various useful pyrolysis-derived products, at least partially. The pyrolysis system 110 may include a waste plastic source 112 for supplying one or more waste plastics to the system 110. The plastic source 112 may be, for example, a hopper, a storage bin, a railcar, an over-the-load trailer, or any other device capable of holding or storing waste plastics. The waste plastic supplied by the plastic source 112 may be in the form of solid particles such as chips, flakes, or powders. The waste plastic may include one or more used waste plastics, for example, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, other polyolefins, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, poly(methyl methacrylate), polytetrafluoroethylene, or a combination thereof. The waste plastic may also include high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof, and the plastic waste may also include polyvinyl chloride and / or polyethylene terephthalate in a weight percentage of 1 to 25 percent or less.

[0055] The waste plastic-containing feed may contain 30-99% by weight of at least one different type of waste plastic. The waste plastic-containing feed may also contain one or more types of plasticizers.

[0056] As shown in Figure 2, a solid waste plastic feed from the plastic source 112 can be supplied to the raw material pretreatment unit 114. While in the raw material pretreatment unit 114, the introduced waste plastic can undergo various pretreatments to facilitate the subsequent pyrolysis reaction. Such pretreatments may include, for example, washing, mechanical stirring, flotation, sizing, or any combination thereof. The introduced plastic waste may be mechanically stirred or subjected to sizing operations to reduce the particle size of the plastic waste. Such mechanical stirring can be performed by any mixing, shearing, or crushing device known in the prior art that can reduce the average particle size of the introduced plastic by 10 to 75 percent.

[0057] Next, the pre-treated plastic feed may be introduced into a plastic feeding system 116. The plastic feeding system 116 may be configured to introduce the plastic feed into a pyrolysis reactor 118. The plastic feeding system 116 may include any system known in the prior art that can supply a solid plastic feed to the pyrolysis reactor 118. The plastic feeding system 116 may include a screw feeder, a hopper, a pneumatic conveying system, a mechanical metal train or chain, or a combination thereof.

[0058] While inside the pyrolysis reactor 118, at least a portion of the plastic raw material may be subjected to a pyrolysis reaction that produces pyrolysis oil, e.g., r-pyrolysis oil, and pyrolysis gas, e.g., r-pyrolysis gas, in a pyrolysis waste liquid. The pyrolysis reactor 118 may be an extruder, a tubular reactor, a tank, a stirred tank reactor, a riser reactor, a fixed bed reactor, a fluidized bed reactor, a rotary kiln, a vacuum reactor, a microwave reactor, an ultrasonic or supersonic reactor, or an autoclave, or a combination thereof.

[0059] More generally, pyrolysis is a process involving the chemical and thermal decomposition of an introduced feedstock. While all pyrolysis processes may generally be characterized by a substantially oxygen-free reaction environment, pyrolysis processes may also be defined by, for example, the pyrolysis reaction temperature in the reactor, the residence time in the pyrolysis reactor, the type of reactor, the pressure in the pyrolysis reactor, and the presence or absence of a pyrolysis catalyst. The pyrolysis reaction may involve heating and conversion of the plastic feedstock in a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere or an atmosphere with less oxygen than the ambient air. The oxygen gas content in the atmosphere within the pyrolysis reactor 118 may be 0.5 to 5 weight percent or less. The pyrolysis process may be carried out in the presence of an inert gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and / or steam. The pyrolysis process may also be carried out in the presence of a reducing gas such as hydrogen and / or carbon monoxide.

[0060] Therefore, the temperature inside the pyrolysis reactor 118 may be adjusted to facilitate the production of a specific final product. The pyrolysis temperature inside the pyrolysis reactor 118 may be 325°C or 1100°C, and may include specific smaller ranges such as 350-900°C, 350-700°C, 350-550°C, 350-475°C, 500-1100°C, 600-1100°C, or 650-1000°C. However, the pyrolysis temperature inside the pyrolysis reactor 118 shall not exceed 1100°C.

[0061] Referring again to Figure 2, the pyrolysis waste liquid 120 flowing out of the pyrolysis reactor 118 generally contains pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis vapor, and residual solid. The conversion waste liquid 120 flowing out of the pyrolysis reactor 118 may be introduced into a solid separator 122. The solid separator 122 may be any conventional device capable of separating solids from gases and vapors, such as a cyclone separator, a gas filter, or a combination thereof. The solid separator 122 removes most of the solids from the conversion waste liquid 120. At least a portion of the solid particles 24 recovered in the solid separator 122 may be introduced into an optional regenerator 126 for general regeneration by combustion. After regeneration, at least a portion of the high-temperature regenerated solid 128 may be introduced directly into the pyrolysis reactor 118. At least a portion of the solid particles 124 recovered in the solid separator 122 may be returned directly to the pyrolysis reactor 118, especially if the solid particles 124 contain a significant amount of unconverted plastic waste. The solid may be removed from the regenerator 126 through line 145 and discharged from the system.

[0062] Referring again to Figure 2, the residual gas and vapor conversion products 130 from the solid separator 122 may be introduced into a fractional distiller 132. In the fractional distiller 132, at least a portion of the pyrolysis oil vapor may be separated from the pyrolysis gas to form a pyrolysis gas product stream 134 and a pyrolysis oil vapor stream 136. Suitable systems to be used as the fractional distiller 132 may include, for example, a distillation column, a membrane separation unit, a quenching column, a condenser, or any other known separation unit known in the art. If residual solids 146 are generated in the fractional distiller 132, they may be introduced into an optional regenerator 126 for further processing.

[0063] At least a portion of the pyrolysis oil vapor stream 136 may be introduced into a quenching unit 138 to at least partially quench the pyrolysis vapor into a liquid state (i.e., pyrolysis oil). The quenching unit 138 may include any suitable quenching system known in the art, such as a quenching tower. The resulting liquid pyrolysis oil stream 140 may be removed from the system 110 and used in other downstream applications described herein. The liquid pyrolysis oil stream 140 may not undergo any additional treatment, such as hydrotizing and / or hydrogenation, before being used in any of the downstream applications described herein.

[0064] At least a portion of the pyrolysis oil vapor stream 136 may also be introduced into a hydrotreatment unit 142 for further modification. The hydrotreatment unit 142 may include a hydrocracker, a catalytic cracker operated by a hydrogen supply stream, a hydrotreatment unit, and / or a hydrotreatment unit. While in the hydrotreatment unit 142, the pyrolysis oil vapor stream 136 can be treated with hydrogen and / or other reducing gases to further saturate the hydrocarbons in the pyrolysis oil and remove unwanted by-products from the pyrolysis oil. The resulting hydrotreated pyrolysis oil vapor stream 144 may be removed and introduced into a quenching unit 138.

[0065] Alternatively, the pyrolysis oil vapor can be cooled, liquefied, and then treated with hydrogen and / or other reducing gases to further saturate the hydrocarbons in the pyrolysis oil. In this case, the hydrogenation or hydrotreatment is carried out in the liquid phase pyrolysis oil. A quenching step is not required after the hydrogenation or hydrotreatment in this embodiment.

[0066] Figure 3A shows one embodiment of a method disclosed herein for controlling 300 the production of a chemical product by a production facility 302 using one or more input raw materials. At least one of the input raw materials is a recyclable raw material derived from waste materials collected by an individual collector 306, i.e., a waste collector. Alternatively, such collection of waste materials may be carried out by a legal entity such as a private or public waste recycling or waste treatment company.

[0067] In this embodiment, the control unit 300 is independent of the production equipment 302, which is a chemical production plant. However, the principles of the methods and systems disclosed herein can be applied to or used in other production equipment, plants, or factories that also use waste-related or waste-derived recyclable materials as input or starting materials for product production.

[0068] In this scenario, it is assumed that a collector 306 has collected plastic waste into a waste bin 304. A sample of the waste is chemically and / or physically analyzed by a portable device 340 to obtain a physical identifier for this portion 342 of the waste. Such a portable device may be a smartphone and a suitable software application such as the trinaX or known tomra approach described above. The results of this analysis are transmitted 344 to a cloud computing platform 310 that provides a database of existing raw material parameters 322 for multiple plastic raw materials. These raw material parameters are associated with underlying chemical and / or physical properties, for example, by a reference list.

[0069] Based on the results of chemical / physical analysis, the corresponding raw material parameters are retrieved by the control unit 300 via the data transmission line 324. The control unit 300 includes a token generator 320 that generates a corresponding token for the retrieved waste material 304, and the identity of the waste collector 306 is verified via the communication line 325 using a commonly known personal identification approach, such as electronic identification of an individual using an electronic ID card. The tokens generated by the token generator 320 are transmitted to the allocation unit 326, which assigns the generated tokens to the collector 306. The quantity or weight of the retrieved waste material 304 also needs to be documented in the tokens and / or waste material-related data objects described herein.

[0070] The assigned tokens are then transferred to an authorized agency 308, for example, an official (national or international) agency for waste management. The agency 308 uses the token generator 320, i.e., based on the prerequisite recovered material parameters 322, to determine the price of the recovered waste materials 304 that have been verified to be suitable as input materials for the production equipment 302. The agency 308 includes or stores the assessed price in the assigned tokens 326 and transmits it to the recoverer 306 via the data transmission line 334, and the recoverer 306 can receive the appropriate price, for example, from an established bank or cash machine.

[0071] In parallel with the token generation 320 described above, a data object generator 350 (which in this embodiment is also included in the control unit 300, but may be a separate processing unit) generates a waste material-related data object for the prerequisite recovered waste material 304. The passport also includes identification information about the recoverer 306. Generating the passport requires a unique identifier 346 (UID) transmitted to the approval unit 352 via the data transmission line 348. The approval unit 352, for example, performs an approval process based on approval rules to also grant access to the generated data object by any participant in this scenario, such as the recoverer 306 or an authorized institution 308. Thus, the generated data object 350 can only be recovered or accessed by UID 346.

[0072] The approved or verified recovered waste material 304 is then physically transported to a material supply unit that supplies the recovered waste material 304 to a first production area 362 of the production facility 302. In this embodiment or scenario, the first production area includes a so-called "chemicycling" processing process consisting of a pyrolysis-based material processing process 312 and a subsequent steam cracker-based material processing process 314. The short-chain hydrocarbons generated from the bulk plastic parts supplied to the first production area are then transferred or transported to a second production area of ​​the production facility 302, which includes a chemical production line 316 for producing chemical products.

[0073] Note that the double lines 342, 358, and 362 indicate the movement or transport of raw materials, in contrast to the other lines 348, 324, 334, 325, or 332 which indicate data flow or data transmission.

[0074] Authorization to access stored waste raw material-related data objects is based on an access authorization procedure associated with a unique identifier for the waste / product and the underlying chemical product data. This procedure includes instructions for reverse data tracking of the chemical raw materials / products that underlie the production of the current waste / product, and for generating the corresponding tracking data. The authorization procedure specifically includes the aforementioned instructions based on event-based invocations that trigger or initialize the instructions for generating the aforementioned (reverse) tracking data from the aforementioned raw material / product data. However, the authentication procedure may also specify the tracking data derived from the aforementioned product data associated with the waste / product.

[0075] The aforementioned transfer of data concerning chemical product data that underlies waste raw materials or products is based on a distributed network including participating nodes configured to execute such data transactions. These participating nodes are associated with the producers of the underlying raw materials / products. The data transactions are based on a transaction protocol that includes an authentication / authorization mechanism. Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanism, a peer-to-peer network is established between the participating nodes of the distributed network. The authentication mechanism is associated with the aforementioned unique identifier and is therefore accessible by the aforementioned data provision / consumption service.

[0076] Figure 3B shows a data flow diagram illustrating an exemplary token-based identity authentication approach 380 that generates a service request using a token value. The interface computing device 382 sends an application view 384 containing a token request 385 to the user computing device 381. The application view 384 contains one or more web pages, mobile application states, etc. The token request 385 may be an interactive form field configured to obtain a token value 386. Alternatively, the token request 385 is a computer executable instruction that generates and sends the token value 386. In other words, the token request 385 may be user-interactive or it may automatically obtain the token value 386.

[0077] The token value 386 is generated by the user computing device 381. In this embodiment, the token value 386 is randomly generated, unique, and temporary. In at least one embodiment, the token value 386 may be a one-time password (OTP). In one embodiment, the user computing device 381 generates the token value 386 based on a secret shared by the identity and authority computing device 383 during the prior registration process, so that the identity and authority computing device 383 can determine whether the token value 386 was properly generated by the user computing device 381.

[0078] The interface computing device 382 generates a service request 387 containing a token value 386 and sends it to the identity and authority computing device 383. The service request 387 contains the token value 386 and, in this embodiment, does not contain any persistent user identifiers (e.g., social security number, driver's license number) so that the interface computing device 382 does not need to store sensitive user data (e.g., persistent user identifiers). Alternatively, the interface computing device 382 can use the token value 386 to interact with the user computing device 381 and the identity and authority computing device 383, while the identity and authority computing device 383 determines any number of persistent user identifiers associated with the token value 386 in order to retrieve and process sensitive user data.

[0079] Referring to Figure 4, it shows how the waste-related data objects described herein can be implemented in relation to the waste-derived raw materials / products that underlie the distributed and cross-border configuration or arranged chemical production network 400 described above.

[0080] This assumes that the chemical production network 400 produces chemical products in production facilities 404 where some waste 402, 402' is generated during the production process. Furthermore, it is assumed that the generated waste 402, 402' is transported or shipped 403 within the chemical production network 400, in the process entering the relevant boundary 401 of the chemical production network 400, which lies between two regions having different technical requirements regarding the possible treatment of waste-derived raw materials.

[0081] If chemical products are produced in the production equipment 404, a waste material-related data object 417 is generated for the generated waste or waste-derived raw materials 402, 402'. For this purpose, the apparatus 410 is configured to generate the waste material-related data object 417.

[0082] For the purposes described above, a requester 408 that needs to access the contents of the waste material-related data object 417 requests the retrieval of one or more of the waste materials 402, 402', and in this embodiment, is required to first retrieve a corresponding unique identifier 409 that is distributed and stored within the cloud computing environment ("cloud") 411. For this process step or task, the requester 408 is also configured to generate a request 413 corresponding to the unique identifier 409. Such a request 413 can be automatically generated or triggered by a labeling system such as a QR code (registered trademark) generator. The request 413 to provide the unique identifier 409 is provided to an identifier generator 412 configured to generate the unique identifier 409. In this embodiment, the identifier generator 412 then provides the generated unique identifier 409 to an identifier provider 414.

[0083] The identifier provider 414 then provides the requester 408 with the unique identifier 409 to associate it with the requested waste 402, 402'. This association may include the step of encoding the unique identifier into a QR code and providing a QR code for labeling the waste 402, 402'. In this way, based on the unique identifier 409, a physical identifier 417 is also provided that is associated with the (actual) physical entities 402, 402' that underlie the waste.

[0084] The identifier generator 412 also provides a unique identifier 409 to a data object generator 416 configured to generate a waste material-related data object 417 for waste materials 402, 402'. The generated waste material-related data object 417 includes the aforementioned unique identifier 409 and basic data, such as the origin and history and chemical properties of the waste-derived materials 402, 402'. This data may further include a digital representation of the underlying waste material data or a portion thereof. The waste material-related data object 417 further includes or is associated with an authentication mechanism linked to the unique identifier 409 and the aforementioned chemical data of the waste-derived materials 402, 402'.

[0085] In this embodiment, the waste raw material-related data object 417 is provided 421 to the corresponding data object provider 418. The data object provider 418 is configured to provide the waste raw material-related data object 417 and the chemical waste raw material-related data associated with the waste raw material-related data object 417 to the chemical production network 400, in this embodiment, from the left side (i.e., source area) to the right side (i.e., target area) 422 of the production facility 404, between the technical regulatory boundary 401 of the chemical production network where the waste 402, 402' is being transported or shipped.

[0086] Referring again to Figure 1, during the pyrolysis step of the underlying manufacturing process, the additional values ​​"pyrolysis recycled content value" and "pr-value" relate to the actual amount of raw materials originating from the pyrolysis of recycled waste. The pr-value is thus a subset of the aforementioned "r-value" linked to the pyrolysis of recycled waste. The r-value or pr-value can be calculated by mass or percentage, and the recycled content value may be deducted from the actual recycled content inventory and applied to the product or composition to attribute the recycled content to the product or composition.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for controlling and / or monitoring the production of a product, particularly a chemical product, using production equipment with one or more input raw materials, wherein at least one of the input raw materials is a recyclable raw material derived from waste materials collected by an individual or legal entity, and the method consists of the following process steps: - A step of verifying the identity of an individual / corporation that provides one or more recovered waste materials that are potentially suitable as at least one recyclable material derived from the waste used as input material to the production equipment, - A step of collecting one or more raw material parameters of the recovered waste raw material from a local or external raw material database in order to determine the suitability of the recovered waste raw material as an input raw material to the production equipment, - A step of generating a token based on the results of verifying the identity of the individual / corporation and the contents of one or more collected raw material parameters, - The step of assigning the generated token to the verified identity of the individual / corporation, Includes, method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the production of the product is controlled and / or monitored based on one or more collected raw material parameters and / or a determination of the suitability of the recovered waste raw materials as input raw materials to the production equipment.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the collection of one or more raw material parameters relating to the provided waste is based on one or more acquired physical identifiers associated with the corresponding recyclable waste raw materials.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the one or more physical identifiers are obtained using a portable device that provides mass spectrometry and / or IR detection measurement functions.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of collecting one or more material parameters of one or more recovered waste materials provided is based on one or more received virtual identifiers associated with the corresponding recyclable waste materials.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the assigned tokens are provided to an authorized institution to evaluate the value based on one or more collected material parameters of the recovered waste material.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the assigned token, which includes the accounting value of the collected material parameters of the one or more recyclable materials, is provided to the individual / corporation.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, comprising using the verified identity of the individual / corporation, generating a waste material-related data object for verifying that the collection of the provided waste material is permitted, based on one or more collected material parameters of the collected waste material and based on the acquired physical identifier or received virtual identifier.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein access to a waste material-related data object generated to verify that the collection of the provided recyclable material is permitted is controlled by at least one authorization rule associated with a unique identifier.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the approval rules is configured to perform reverse data tracking of the one or more recovered waste materials used in the production of the product.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the production equipment includes a pyrolysis step and a cracking step that convert the provided waste into a recyclable waste-derived material used as an input material for the production of the product.

12. A computer-based method for controlling and / or monitoring the recovery of at least one waste-derived waste suitable as a recyclable raw material to be used as a raw material input to a production facility for producing a product, wherein the suitability of such waste is verified by the method described in any one of the preceding claims.

13. A software-implemented product element operating on a computer for verifying the personal / corporate identity of one or more recovered waste materials suitable as at least one recyclable material derived from the waste used as input material to the production equipment, according to the method described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A computer-based system for controlling and / or monitoring the production of products, particularly chemical products, by production equipment using one or more input raw materials, wherein at least one of the input raw materials is a waste-derived recyclable raw material based on waste collected by an individual or a corporation, and the system - A step of verifying the identity of an individual / corporation that provides one or more recovered waste materials suitable as recyclable raw materials derived from at least one waste material to be used as input raw materials to the aforementioned production equipment, - A step of collecting one or more raw material parameters of the recovered waste raw materials from a local or external raw material database, - A step of generating a token based on one or more raw material parameters collected, - Includes a control unit configured to perform the step of assigning the generated token to the verified identity of the individual / corporation, system.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the production of the said product is controlled and / or monitored based on one or more collected raw material parameters.

16. The system according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the raw material database is a database located in a distributed network of nodes that share data with one another in order to store available raw material parameters for multiple types of recoverable waste raw materials that are suitable as input raw materials for the production of products, in particular chemical products.

17. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the control unit is configured to generate waste material-related data objects for verifying that the collection of the provided recyclable waste materials is permitted based on the verified identity of the prerequisite individual / corporation.

18. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein access to generated waste material-related data objects is controlled by at least one authorization rule associated with a unique identifier in order to verify that the collection of the provided recyclable waste materials is permitted.

19. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the production equipment includes a pyrolysis step and a cracking step that convert the provided waste material into a recyclable waste-derived material that can be used as input material for the production of the product by the production equipment.

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