Recycling of plastic items

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of sustainability, particularly to the field of plastic recycling. This disclosure relates to methods, apparatus, systems, decentralized network nodes, plastic articles, and computer elements for monitoring substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of sustainability, particularly the field of plastic recycling. This disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, systems, decentralized network nodes, plastic articles, and computer elements for monitoring substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components.

Background Art

[0002] Chemical products for plastics are used in a variety of applications and will ultimately produce a variety of plastic articles in multiple supply chains. Recycling plastic articles is difficult due to the complexity in sorting various sets of waste. This is particularly difficult for mixed plastic waste. Since chemical plants are large-scale plants with narrow supply specifications, it is particularly difficult to resupply such plastic materials into the chemical value chain. Recycling processes to date have difficulty meeting such narrow supply specifications for recycled materials generated from mixed plastic waste. Therefore, producers of chemical substances are hindered from using such recycled materials. <00,00010>

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0003] In one aspect, a method for monitoring production characteristics, such as one or more substances important for the recycling of an article, such as a plastic article, or its components, the method comprising: collecting data related to the production of an article, such as a plastic article or its components, for example, material composition data regarding substances important for the recycling of the plastic article or its components, in relation to the production of the plastic article or its components; providing one or more decentralized identifiers associated with the produced article, such as a plastic article or its components; The steps include generating one or more digital representations of data related to the production of an article or its components, such as a plastic article, for example, material composition data, The steps of generating one or more access elements, each including one or more decentralized identifiers and one or more digital representations, The process includes the step of providing one or more access elements to a decentralized network, under the control of a data provision network node associated with a producer of an article, such as a plastic article or its components, to one or more data consumption network nodes of the decentralized network in order to access data related to the production of an article, such as a plastic article or its components, such as material composition data.

[0004] In another embodiment, the apparatus is for monitoring the production characteristics of one or more substances that are important for the recycling of articles or their components, such as plastic articles, and the apparatus is A data collection interface configured to collect data related to the production of articles such as plastic articles or their components, for example, material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components in relation to the production of articles such as plastic articles or their components, An identifier providing interface configured to provide one or more decentralized identifiers associated with manufactured articles, such as plastic articles or their components, A representation generator configured to generate one or more digital representations of data related to the production of articles or their components, such as plastic articles, for example, material composition data, An access element generator configured to generate one or more access elements, each including one or more decentralized identifiers and one or more digital representations, The system comprises a decentralized network interface configured to provide one or more access elements to the decentralized network for one or more data consumption network nodes of the decentralized network to access data related to the production of articles, such as plastic articles or their components, such as material composition data, under the control of a data provision network node associated with a producer of articles, such as plastic articles or their components.

[0005] In one embodiment, a method for monitoring the production characteristics of one or more substances important for the recycling of articles or their components, such as plastic articles, wherein the method is For each production stage, the process involves collecting data related to the production of the plastic article or its components, such as material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of the plastic article. A step of providing one or more decentralized identifiers associated with an article, such as a plastic article, at each production stage, The steps include generating one or more digital representations of data related to the production of an article or its components, such as a plastic article, for example, material composition data, The steps of generating one or more access elements, each including one or more decentralized identifiers and one or more digital representations, The process includes the step of providing one or more access elements to a decentralized network, under the control of a data provision network node associated with the producer at each stage of production of an article such as a plastic article, by one or more data consumption network nodes of the decentralized network, in order to access data related to the production of an article such as a plastic article or its components, such as material composition data.

[0006] In another embodiment, the apparatus is for monitoring the production characteristics of one or more substances that are important for the recycling of articles or their components, such as plastic articles, and the apparatus is A data collection interface is configured to collect data related to the production of articles, such as plastic articles or their components, at each production stage, for example, material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components. An identifier providing interface configured to provide one or more decentralized identifiers associated with items such as plastic articles at each production stage, A representation generator configured to generate one or more digital representations of data related to the production of articles or their components, such as plastic articles, for example, material composition data, An access element generator configured to generate one or more access elements, each including one or more decentralized identifiers and one or more digital representations, The system includes a decentralized network interface configured to provide one or more access elements to the decentralized network for accessing data related to the production of articles, such as plastic articles or their components, under the control of a data provision network node associated with the producer, for each stage of the production of articles such as plastic articles. This access is provided by one or more data consumption network nodes of the decentralized network, under the control of a data provision network node associated with the producer.

[0007] In another embodiment, a method for accessing the production characteristics of one or more substances important for the recycling of articles, such as plastic articles, which are to be recycled, the method is The steps include providing a decentralized identifier associated with an item, such as a plastic item, that is to be recycled, The steps include collecting one or more representations relating to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by a method or apparatus disclosed herein, The process includes the step of requesting access from one or more producers of plastic articles or other articles, and / or components of plastic articles that are recycled, to data relating to the production of plastic articles or other articles or components, such as material composition data.

[0008] In another embodiment, the apparatus provides access to the production characteristics of one or more important substances in an article, such as a plastic article, which is to be recycled, and the apparatus is An identifier providing interface configured to provide decentralized identifiers associated with items such as plastic articles that are to be recycled, Expression retrieval device configured to collect one or more expressions related to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method or device disclosed herein. The system includes an access requester configured to request access to data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, such as material composition data, from producers of plastic articles or other articles, and / or producers of components of plastic articles or other articles that are recycled.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method for accessing the production characteristics of one or more important substances of an article, such as a plastic article, that is to be recycled, the method is The steps include providing a decentralized identifier associated with an item, such as a plastic item, that is to be recycled, The steps include collecting one or more representations relating to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by a method or apparatus disclosed herein, The process includes the step of requesting access from one or more producers at each stage of production of the plastic articles or other articles or their components, such as material composition data.

[0010] In another embodiment, the apparatus provides access to the production characteristics of one or more important substances in an article, such as a plastic article, which is to be recycled, and the apparatus is An identifier providing interface configured to provide decentralized identifiers associated with items such as plastic articles that are to be recycled, Expression retrieval device configured to collect one or more expressions related to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method or device disclosed herein. The system includes an access requester configured to request access from one or more producers to data related to the production of the plastic articles or their components, such as material composition data, at each stage of production of the articles, such as plastic articles, that are to be recycled.

[0011] In another embodiment, a method for controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling articles such as plastic articles or their components, wherein the method is The steps include providing a decentralized identifier associated with an item, such as a plastic item, that is to be recycled, The steps include collecting one or more representations relating to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by a method or apparatus disclosed herein, A step of requesting access from producers of articles such as plastic articles and / or producers of components of articles such as plastic articles that are recycled, to data related to the production of articles such as plastic articles or their components, for example, material composition data, The process includes controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling an article or its components, such as a plastic article, based on data related to the production of such articles or their components, such as material composition data.

[0012] In another embodiment, a device for controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling articles such as plastic articles or their components, the device is An identifier providing interface configured to provide decentralized identifiers associated with items such as plastic articles that are to be recycled, An expression retrieval device configured to collect one or more expressions related to a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method or apparatus disclosed herein, An access requester configured to request access to data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, such as material composition data, from producers of plastic articles or other articles, and / or producers of components of plastic articles or other articles that are recycled, Includes a control and / or monitoring interface configured to control and / or monitor a process for recycling articles or their components, such as plastic articles, based on data related to the production of articles or their components, such as material composition data.

[0013] In another embodiment, a method for controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling articles such as plastic articles or their components, wherein the method is providing a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled; collecting one or more representations associated with a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method or apparatus disclosed herein; requesting access from one or more producers to data related to the production of an article, such as a plastic article, or a component thereof, e.g., material composition data, at each production stage of the article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled; controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling an article, such as a plastic article, or a component thereof based on data related to the production of the article, such as a plastic article, or a component thereof, e.g., material composition data.

[0014] In another aspect, an apparatus for controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling an article, such as a plastic article, or a component thereof, the apparatus comprising: an identifier providing interface configured to provide a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled; a representation searcher configured to collect one or more representations associated with a decentralized identifier associated with an article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method or apparatus disclosed herein; an access requester configured to request access from one or more producers to data related to the production of an article, such as a plastic article, or a component thereof, e.g., material composition data, at each production stage of the article, such as a plastic article, to be recycled; Includes a control and / or monitoring interface configured to control and / or monitor a process for recycling articles or their components, such as plastic articles, based on data related to the production of articles or their components, such as material composition data.

[0015] In another embodiment, a sorting / recycling system is disclosed which includes a device for controlling and / or monitoring a process for recycling articles or components such as plastic articles, and a sorting / recycling device configured for sorting articles such as plastic articles into at least one waste fraction.

[0016] In another embodiment, a decentralized network node is disclosed that is configured to provide access elements by a method for monitoring one or more substances that are important for the recycling of articles or their components, such as plastic articles disclosed herein.

[0017] In another embodiment, a decentralized network node configured to access data relating to the production of an article, such as a plastic article, or its components, such as material composition data, is disclosed by a method for accessing one or more important substances of an article, such as a plastic article, which is recycled as disclosed herein.

[0018] In another embodiment, an article such as a plastic article is disclosed, associated with an access element generated and provided by a method or apparatus for monitoring one or more substances that are important for the recycling of an article or its components, such as a plastic article, as disclosed herein.

[0019] In another aspect, the disclosure relates to computer elements such as computer programs or computer-readable media having instructions configured to perform steps of the methods disclosed herein when executed on one or more computing nodes of a decentralized network, or to be executed by one or more devices disclosed herein.

[0020] Any disclosures, embodiments, and examples described herein relate to the methods, systems, apparatus, chemical products, chemical product passports, licensing regulations, uses, and computer elements listed above and below. Advantageously, any benefits provided by any embodiment and example apply equally to all other embodiments and examples.

[0021] Embodiment To improve plastic recycling and the quality of recycled materials, data sharing to monitor material flows is crucial. However, to date, data sharing in material chains has not been standardized by communication protocols for controlled access to such data by participants in the material loop. Decentralized networks enable controlled peer-to-peer communication among participants in material chains. By creating material composition data on the production of articles such as plastic articles or their components, for example, data on materials important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components at each production stage, and by accessing such data on recycling in a controlled manner, more efficient and reliable recycling can be ensured.

[0022] In particular, by collecting data on contaminants for recycling at the production stage of articles, such as plastic articles or their components, and providing access to such data through access elements via a decentralized network, critical data sharing among participants in the material loop becomes possible. More specifically, by using decentralized digital relationships stored for each participant in the material loop, it becomes possible to recursively reconstruct bills of materials only for those parts of the data related to plastic recycling, such as contaminants for recycling. More specifically, by providing such data related to selected participants, such as recyclers, producers are given the necessary control over sensitive production information. More specifically, by providing such data related to the recycling process and recycling quality, more targeted data sharing becomes possible, leading to more reliable and efficient recycling of plastic articles.

[0023] The embodiments of this disclosure will be outlined below by examples. It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments and / or examples.

[0024] Articles may include any articles, especially articles containing plastics. Any reference to articles containing plastics, waste articles, or plastic articles may also generally refer to articles. Any description referring to articles containing plastics, waste articles, or plastic articles may be considered an example of an article and is similarly applicable to articles. Articles containing plastics, waste articles, or plastic articles may include any product made of plastic material, any product containing plastic material, or any product containing an article containing plastic. Articles containing plastics, waste articles, or plastic articles may include components containing one or more plastic materials. Components may be chemical components of a plastic article or individual components. Plastic materials may relate to plastic compounds, combinations of plastic compounds, composite materials, combinations of composite materials, foamed materials, combinations of foamed materials, additives, combinations of additives, or combinations thereof. Plastic materials may include one or more elements selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear LDPE (LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyurethane (PU), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polystyrene (PS), polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polycarbonate (PC). Articles containing plastics may include thermosetting resins, e.g., rigid and durable plastics used in automotive parts, thermoplastic resins, e.g., those molded into packaging, and / or elastomers, e.g., soft plastics with rubber-like properties. Uses of articles containing plastics may include food or non-food packaging, textiles, buildings and construction, batteries, automobiles, or electronic equipment. Uses of articles containing plastic may include bottles, mattresses, foils, and textiles.

[0025] Further examples of plastic materials contained in waste flows include high-density polyethylene and its copolymers, low-density polyethylene and its copolymers, polypropylene and its copolymers, other polyolefins, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyesters including polyethylene terephthalate, copolyesters and terephthalate copolyesters (e.g., containing residues of TMCD, CHDM, propylene glycol, or NPG monomers), polyethylene terephthalate, polyamides, poly(methyl methacrylate), polytetrafluoroethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyurethanes, cellulose and its derivatives, regenerated cellulose such as cellulose acetate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate, viscose and rayon, epoxy, polyamides, phenolic resins, polyacetals, polycarbonates, polyphenylene alloys, polypropylene and its copolymers, polystyrene, styrene compounds, vinyl compounds, styrene acrylonitrile, thermoplastic elastomers, urea polymers and / or melamine-containing polymers.

[0026] Important substances for recycling may be present in plastic articles. Important substances for recycling may interfere with the quality of the recycled materials produced by the recycling process. Important substances for recycling may include substances present in plastic articles. Important substances for recycling may be related to the recycling process. Important substances for recycling may be related to the use of recycled materials. Important substances for recycling may be related to both the recycling process and the use of recycled materials.

[0027] Key substances for recycling may include substances specific to one or more recycling processes. Key substances for recycling may be associated with chemical or mechanical recycling processes. Key substances for recycling may be associated with specific chemical recycling processes, such as chemical recycling processes for producing hydrocarbon recyclables, chemical recycling processes for producing recyclable mixtures containing at least hydrogen and carbon monoxide, chemical recycling processes for producing monomer recyclables, or solvent-based recycling processes for producing polymer recyclables.

[0028] Key substances for recycling may include substances specific to one or more uses of the recyclable materials produced by the recycling process. Key substances for recycling may be associated with chemical recycling processes that produce recyclable materials for petrochemical processes. A petrochemical process may include at least one process configured to decompose saturated hydrocarbons into at least partially unsaturated hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon recyclable materials may be produced by pyrolysis. Key substances for recycling may include inorganic substances, such as sulfur, halogens, oxygen, phosphorus, metals, and aluminum, antinomy, barium, calcium chromium, copper, iron, potassium, sodium, lead, silicon, titanium, zinc, arsine, mercury, nickel, vanadium, or combinations thereof. Key substances for recycling may be associated with chemical recycling processes for producing recyclable material mixtures containing at least hydrogen and carbon monoxide for hydrogen-based chemical processes. Recyclable material mixtures may contain 30 to 60% carbon monoxide and 25 to 30% hydrogen. Recyclable material mixtures may be used as a hydrogen source in chemical processes that chemically convert raw materials into products. Recyclable material mixtures may be produced by gasification. Important materials for recycling may be related to chemical recycling processes for producing monomer recyclables for polymer production processes. Monomer recyclables may contain one or more components of polymers. Monomer recyclables may contain components for producing one or more polymers. Monomer recyclables may be produced by depolymerization. Important materials for recycling may be related to solvent-based recycling processes for producing polymer recyclables for production processes of articles or components. Polymer recyclables may contain one or more polymer types or plastic compounds. Polymer recyclables may be produced by dissolution.

[0029] Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected by the producers of the plastic articles or their components at the production stages of the plastic articles or their components. Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected in connection with the production of the plastic articles or their components. Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected before, during, in, or after the production of the plastic articles or their components. Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected at each production stage of the plastic articles. A production stage may include any production stage in the material chain of the plastic articles. For example, a production stage may include the production of monomers or polymers. Furthermore, for example, a production stage may include production using monomers or polymers, such as compounding, conversion, or molding. Furthermore, for example, a production stage may include producing plastic articles using any components based on monomers or polymers.

[0030] Identifier elements may be associated with or connected to a plastic article or its components. Identifier elements may be associated with or connected to a plastic article or its components at least during production of the plastic article or its components. Through identifier elements, a digital twin of the article or its components may be accessible through a decentralized network. Identifier elements may be uniquely associated with an article or its components. Identifier elements may be uniquely associated with a digital article identifier or component identifier. Digital article identifiers or component identifiers may be uniquely associated with an article or component. In this way, material composition data may be provided for each article / component or for individual articles / components. Article identifiers or component identifiers may include one or more decentralized identifiers uniquely associated with an article or component. Article identifiers or component identifiers may be associated with one or more decentralized identifiers representing a digital twin of the physical entity of the article or component. Decentralized identifiers may be digital identifiers of a decentralized network or digital identifiers for a decentralized network. A decentralized identifier may be a digital identifier provided to a decentralized network and to participant nodes of the decentralized network. Thus, a decentralized identifier may represent a physical entity of an item or component in a decentralized network, and participant nodes may interpret the relationship of the decentralized identifier to the physical entity of an item or component in a material chain.

[0031] A decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the producer of an article or component and the article or component. A decentralized identifier may include one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). A decentralized identifier may be issued by a central or decentralized identity issuer. A decentralized identifier may include authentication information. Through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the producer of the article or component and the article or component, access to material composition data may be controlled by the producer of the article or component. This is in contrast to a centralized system where identifiers are provided by such a central authority and access to data is controlled by such a central authority. In this context, decentralized refers to the use of identifiers controlled by the data owner.

[0032] A decentralized identifier may include one or more identifiers used in a decentralized network that enable data exchange across the decentralized network. Data exchange may include the discovery of decentralized identifiers of network nodes in the decentralized network, the authentication of network nodes in the decentralized network, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between network nodes in the decentralized network. A decentralized identifier may be associated with participants in a materials chain, particularly in the materials loop, including chemical producers, monomer producers, polymer producers, intermediate chemical producers, intermediate component producers, component producers, component assembly producers, article producers, article users, article collectors, article sorters, and / or article recyclers. A decentralized identifier may be associated with material entities in a materials chain, particularly in the materials loop, including chemical products, monomers, polymers, intermediate chemicals, intermediate components, components, component assemblies, and / or articles.

[0033] An article or its components may be associated with an access element for a decentralized network, which may include a digital representation associated with the plastic article. The access element may include, or be associated with, a digital representation of material composition data. The digital representation of material composition data may be provided to the decentralized network. The digital representation of material composition data may be provided by a decentralized network node associated with the dedicated storage of the producer of the article or its components. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the material composition data or a portion thereof. The digital representation may include a representation of the material composition data or a portion thereof. The access element may include a digital representation of the material composition data, authentication information, and / or a decentralized identifier. The digital representation may include a locator or pointer to a dedicated storage address associated with the producer of the article or its components. The digital representation may include a locator or pointer to a dedicated storage associated with a producer participant in the production chain that produces the plastic article or its components and stores data related to the production of the plastic article or its components. The digital representation may include one or more digital links pointing to data related to the production of the plastic article or its components, such as material data. The digital representation may include a locator or pointer, such as a URL or URI, to a dedicated storage address associated with a production participant in the production chain that produces plastic articles or their components and stores data related to the production of the plastic articles or their components.

[0034] A decentralized network may include one or more decentralized network nodes configured to perform data transactions. Decentralized network nodes may be associated with participants in a material chain, particularly material loops. Data transactions may be based on a transaction protocol that includes authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, a peer-to-peer network may be established between decentralized network nodes of the decentralized network.

[0035] One or more authentication mechanisms may be associated with or linked to a decentralized identifier. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier may be provided to a decentralized network node. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier may be accessible by a decentralized network node. A decentralized configuration enables more efficient use of computing resources and enhances control by each data owner of the decentralized network.

[0036] One or more decentralized identifiers may be uniquely associated with the physical entities of the produced plastic articles or their components. Access elements may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifiers and digital representations. Access elements may be associated with one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifiers and digital article representations. One or more authorization mechanisms may include authorization rules that determine whether access to production-related data is authorized. One or more authorization mechanisms may be associated with data provision network nodes associated with producers of plastic articles or components. One or more authorization mechanisms may be provided for each production stage or producer in the plastic article production chain. Digital representations may include one or more digital links that point to data related to the production of the plastic articles or their components or parts.

[0037] A data-providing network node may be configured to provide access to data stored in dedicated storage associated with each data-providing network node. A data-providing network node may be associated with material participants in the production chain of plastic articles or their components, such as producers of plastic articles or their components. Data generated by producers of plastic articles or their components at each production stage may be provided to the decentralized network by the data-providing network node, particularly for access by data-consuming network nodes. Access to the data may be under the control of the data-providing network node. A data-providing network node may be configured to authorize data-consuming network nodes and / or authorize data-consuming network nodes to access the data.

[0038] A data consumption network node may be configured to request access to data stored in dedicated storage associated with a data provision network node. A data consumption network node may also be associated with material participants in the recycling chain of plastic articles or their components, such as sorters or recyclers of plastic articles or their components. Data generated by producers of plastic articles or their components at each production stage may be accessed by the data consumption network node during authentication and / or authorization.

[0039] Data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected. This data may include material composition data.

[0040] In one embodiment, material composition data relating to substances important for recycling may be collected by the producer of the plastic article or its components in connection with the production of the plastic article or its components. Material composition data relating to substances important for recycling may be collected by the producer of the plastic article or its components at the time of production of the plastic article or its components. Material composition data relating to substances important for recycling may be collected in connection with the production of the plastic article or its components. Material composition data relating to substances important for recycling may be collected before, during, in the process of production, or after the production of the plastic article or its components. Material composition data relating to substances important for recycling may be collected at each stage of production of the plastic article. A production stage may include any production stage in the material chain of the plastic article. For example, a production stage may include the production of monomers or polymers. Furthermore, for example, a production stage may include production using monomers or polymers, such as compounding, conversion, or molding. Furthermore, for example, a production stage may include producing a plastic article using any components based on monomers or polymers.

[0041] In another embodiment, input data associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components may be collected. Data related to the production of a plastic article or its components may include input data associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components. By collecting input data, production inputs can be associated with production outputs at each stage of production of the plastic article, and it is possible to track the material flow across material participants in the article production chain.

[0042] Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may include article history data relating to the use, application, and / or origin of the plastic articles or their components. By collecting article history data, such data may be accessed by material participants in the recycling chain to improve sorting and / or recycling processes. Data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components may be accessed by one or more data consumption network nodes under the control of data provision network nodes associated with the producers of the plastic articles or their components.

[0043] In another embodiment, input data associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components, in particular, the associated decentralized identifiers of one or more production inputs, are collected. The input data may include decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components. Decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components may be collected.

[0044] In another embodiment, a digital relationship is generated based on a decentralized identifier associated with one or more inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components. The digital relationship may include a decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components, and a decentralized identifier of the plastic article or its components produced from such production inputs. The digital relationship may include a relationship of decentralized identifiers indicating a production relationship. A child identifier may be assigned to the decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce a plastic article or its components. A parent identifier may be assigned to the decentralized identifier of the plastic article or its components produced from such production inputs. The digital relationship may be generated for each stage of production of the plastic article. In other words, the digital relationship may be generated for each producer in the production chain of the plastic article. The digital relationship may be stored in dedicated storage associated with the producer of the plastic article or its components. The digital relationship may be stored for each stage of production of the plastic article. In other words, the digital relationship may be stored for each producer in the production chain of the plastic article.

[0045] In another embodiment, a decentralized relationship identifier is provided associated with the digital relationship, a relationship representation of the digital relationship is generated, and a relationship access element is generated containing the decentralized relationship identifier and the relationship representation, which is provided for access to the digital relationship by one or more data-consuming network nodes under the control of a data-providing network node associated with a producer of the plastic article or its components. The relationship representation may include one or more digital links pointing to a relationship between a production input and the plastic article or its components. The relationship representation may include a locator or pointer to a dedicated storage address associated with a producer of the article or its components. The relationship representation may include a locator or pointer to dedicated storage associated with a producer in the production chain that produces the plastic article or its components and stores the digital relationship. The digital representation may include one or more digital links pointing to the digital relationship. The digital representation may include a locator or pointer, such as a url or uri, to a dedicated storage address associated with a producer in the production chain that produces the plastic article or its components and stores the digital relationship. The relationship access element may be generated for each production stage or producer in the production chain of the plastic article. Relational access elements can be provided to relational management nodes in a decentralized network. In this way, the relationships can be accessed by data-consuming network nodes in the decentralized network.

[0046] In another embodiment, relational access elements are provided to access digital relationships between production inputs and plastic articles or their components, used in the producer's production process, which are accessed through data production nodes associated with the producer. Relational access elements may be associated with authorization rules that provide access to digital relationships depending on a decentralized participant identifier or decentralized participant type. A decentralized participant identifier may be associated with a data consumption network node that requests access to the digital relationship. A decentralized participant identifier may be associated with a data consumption network node associated with a recycling system that provides a decentralized identifier for plastic articles at the time of recycling. In this way, access to sensitive data regarding the bill of materials of plastic articles in the production chain can be restricted to specific network nodes to which data access is relevant, such as material composition or article history data for controlling and / or monitoring the recycling process. In addition, data access may help participants in the plastic article production chain to discover important materials for recycling.

[0047] In another embodiment, the material composition dataset relates to or identifies substances important for recycling plastic articles or their components by mechanical and / or chemical recycling processes, for example, for producing hydrocarbon recyclables for petrochemical processes, for producing a recyclable mixture containing at least hydrogen and carbon monoxide for hydrogen-based chemical processes, or for producing monomer recyclables for polymer production processes, and / or by solvent-based recycling processes, for example, for producing polymer recyclables for article or component production processes.

[0048] Material composition data may include substances important for recycling in relation to one or more recycling processes. Material composition data may further relate to the level of decomposition of materials used to produce the article or its components, the recycled content used to produce the article or its components, the monomer content used to produce the article or its components, and / or the polymer content used to produce the article or its components.

[0049] In another embodiment, the material composition data includes one or more datasets relating to recycling-critical substances for each recycling process, each use of recycled material, and / or each decentralized participant identifier. Participant identifiers may be associated with data-consuming network nodes that request access to the material composition data. Recycling processes may be indicated by recycling process identifiers. Use of recycled materials may be indicated by recycled material types. Decentralized participant identifiers may be provided by data-consuming network nodes that request access to the material composition data. Recycling process identifiers and / or recycled material types may be provided by data-consuming network nodes that request access to the material composition data. Recycling process identifiers and / or recycled material types may be provided by data-providing network nodes that provide access to the material composition data. Recycling process identifiers and / or recycled material types may be provided by authorization rules that associate decentralized participant identifiers associated with data-consuming network nodes that request access to the material composition data with recycling process identifiers and / or recycled material types. Authorization rules may be associated with one or more datasets relating to recycling-critical substances for each recycling process, each use of recycled material, and / or each decentralized participant identifier. Recycling processes may relate to mechanical and / or chemical recycling processes, including solvent-based recycling. The use of recycled materials may relate to the reuse of recycled materials produced by such recycling processes. The use of recycled materials may relate to hydrocarbon recycled materials for petrochemical or refining processes, recycled material mixtures containing at least hydrogen and carbon monoxide for hydrogen-based chemical processes, monomer recycled materials for polymer production processes, and / or polymer recycled materials for article production processes.

[0050] In another embodiment, the access element is provided for access by one or more data consumption network nodes associated with one or more participants in the recycling chain, such as sorters, collectors, and / or recyclers, to a material composition dataset containing one or more recycling processes, uses of recyclable materials, and / or substances critical to recycling, depending on the participant type. The access element may relate to authorization rules that provide access to the material composition dataset depending on one or more recycling processes, uses of recyclable materials, and / or the participant type. The access element may relate to authorization rules that provide access to the material composition dataset depending on the recycling process, uses of recyclable materials, and / or participant identifier. The access element may relate to authorization rules that provide access to the material composition dataset for substances critical to recycling depending on a decentralized participant identifier, a recycling process identifier associated with the decentralized participant identifier, and / or a recyclable material type identifier associated with the decentralized participant identifier. The access element may relate to authorization rules that provide access to the material composition dataset for substances critical to recycling to selected participants in the material or recycling chain, particularly sorters, collectors, and / or recycler system participants.

[0051] In another embodiment, material composition data may be accessed by one or more participants in the material or recycling chain, particularly sorters, collectors, and / or recycling system participants, through one or more access elements generated by the methods disclosed herein. Material composition data may be accessed by one or more participants in the material or recycling chain, particularly sorters, collectors, and / or recycling system participants, at each stage of production of the plastic article. Material composition data may be accessed at each stage of production of the plastic article from one or more participants in the production chain, particularly producers of the plastic article or components. Material composition data may be accessed recursively based on one or more relational expressions provided by one or more participants in the production chain, particularly producers of the plastic article or components. One or more relational expressions provided to a decentralized network by one or more participants in the production chain, particularly producers of the plastic article or components, may be accessed recursively by one or more participants in the material or recycling chain, particularly sorters, collectors, and / or recycling system participants.

[0052] The present disclosure will be further described below with reference to the attached drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0053] [Figure 1] This figure shows an exemplary embodiment of a circulating material loop, including material participants connected through a decentralized network with decentralized network nodes associated with the material participants. [Figure 2] This figure illustrates an exemplary method for generating an access element to monitor the production of plastic articles or their components by at least one material participant in a decentralized network. [Figure 3]This figure shows another exemplary method for generating an access element to monitor the production of plastic articles or their components by at least one material participant in a decentralized network. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a method for accessing data related to the production of plastic articles or their components by one or more data-consuming network nodes, under the control of data-providing network nodes associated with producers of plastic articles or their components. [Figure 5] This diagram shows a method for obtaining data related to the production of plastic articles or their components based on decentralized product identifiers and relationships. [Figure 6] This diagram shows a relationship representation that identifies the relationship between a plastic article or its components and the components used to produce the plastic article or its components. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a decentralized network that includes several decentralized network nodes that can be accessed by computing devices. [Figure 8] This figure shows an exemplary system for obtaining production-related data based on a decentralized plastic item identifier. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a method or apparatus for providing material composition and / or article history data via a decentralized network. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0054] The following embodiments are merely examples of how to carry out the methods, apparatus, systems, or applications disclosed herein, and should not be considered limiting.

[0055] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a circulating material loop 100, which includes material participants 101.1-6 connected through a decentralized network 102 with decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 associated with material participants 101.1-6.

[0056] The participant network shown in Figure 1 may also be a material chain network. A material chain network may include one or more linear material chains, such as a production chain and / or a recycling chain. A linear material chain may include one or more material production chains, where the material is produced by a material producer 101.1 and used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to produce a final product. A linear material chain may include a material recycling chain, where the produced final product is collected, sorted, recycled to a recycling system operator 101.6, and the recycled material is used by the material producer 101.1 to produce new material. A material chain may include one or more production and / or recycling chains. A material chain may include one or more connected production and / or recycling chains. One or more linear material chains may be connected to the material loop 100.

[0057] A materials chain network may include a materials loop network 100 that includes the use of recycled materials to produce new materials. One or more materials loops 100 may enable the use of materials resulting from the recycling of used products to produce new products, for example, chemical products or materials associated with one or more materials chains. A materials chain network, preferably a materials loop 100, may include the production, use, and / or recycling of physical materials or products produced using or containing such materials. Products may be materials, chemical products, intermediate chemical products, materials containing individual components, individual component assemblies, final products, used products, recycled products, recycled products, or recycled materials.

[0058] Materials or chemical products may refer to chemical compounds, chemical components, chemical molecules, chemical compositions, chemical mixtures, chemical formulations, intermediate chemical products, or chemical substrates that can be used to produce individual products. A flow of chemical materials or products may include a continuous flow of materials that can be further processed to produce individual products or components. A flow of chemical materials or products may include liquids, pellets, beets, powders, etc. Individual products may include individual components, individual component assemblies, final products, used products, recycled products, or recycled products.

[0059] Chemical substances or products may be produced using raw materials and / or recycled materials. Recycled materials may refer to materials that have been mechanically or chemically recycled. Recycled materials or recycled material flows may include continuous material flows that may be further processed to produce new materials or chemical products. Recycled materials or recycled material flows may include liquids, pellets, beets, powders, etc. Raw materials may include or refer to starting materials used to produce materials or chemical products, such as unused raw materials. Unused raw materials may be unused raw materials that have not undergone any processing other than production.

[0060] The term "final product" can refer to a product that is the result of a materials chain. The term "final product" can refer to a product used by an end-of-life (EOL) user. "End-of-life (EOL) product" can refer to a product that has been used by an end-of-life user. "End-of-life product" can refer to a product that no longer meets the requirements for its use. "End-of-life product" can refer to a product that is no longer needed. "End-of-life product" can refer to a product that has been discarded as waste, such as plastic waste. "Recycled product" can refer to any product or material produced using an end-of-life product. "Recycled product" can refer to a new product or material produced using an end-of-life product.

[0061] The material loop 100 shown in Figure 1 may include multiple participants 101.1-6 that form the material loop 100. The material loop 100 may include all stages from the production of the material through the use of the material to the reuse of the material. Thus, the material can circulate in a closed loop from the production of components through the use of the final product to reuse. Reuse may include the repurposing of used products, the repair of used products, and / or the recycling of used products to resupply recycled materials to material production.

[0062] Participants in the material loop 101.1-6 may be associated with the manufacture of any material or product and / or the recycling of any material or product. Participants in the material loop 100 may include chemical product producers 103.1, chemical product users 103.2, original equipment manufacturers, OEMs 103.3, end-of-life product users 103.4, EOL product collectors and / or sorters 103.5, recycling system operators 103.6, or a combination thereof. Participants may include various participants in the material chain or loop not shown in Figure 1.

[0063] Participants 101.1-6 of the material loop 100 may be connected through a material flow 104. The material flow 104 may correspond to a flow of product or material from one participant 101.1-6 of the material loop to a downstream participant 101.1-6 of the material loop 100. The material flow 104 may refer to a continuous or discontinuous flow of product or material. The flow of product or material may include any means of transport suitable for transporting the product from one participant 101.1-6 to another downstream participant 101.1-6. The means of transport may include pipes, containers, barrels, packages, etc. The material flow 104 may also be a unidirectional flow, for example, a directional material flow 104. The material flow 104 may flow from an upstream participant 101.1-6 to a downstream participant 101.1-6 of the material loop 100, for example, a material flow 104 from a recycling system operator 101.6 to a chemical product producer 101.1. The material flow may include a reverse material flow 104 from downstream participants 101.1-6 to upstream participants 101.1-6 in the material loop 100. For example, the material may flow from a chemical product producer 101.1 to a recycling system 101.6 if, for example, the recycled product or recycled material does not conform to quality specifications and requires further processing 104.

[0064] The material flow 106 may be associated with raw materials used to produce materials or chemical products, such as unused raw materials. Unused raw materials may be unused raw materials that have not undergone any processing other than production. Instead of unused raw materials, the material flow 104 may include recycled materials. Recycled materials may be made from waste materials that can be recycled. Raw materials and recycled materials may be provided to chemical producers to produce materials, chemical products and / or intermediate chemical products (not shown).

[0065] The material loop 100 shown in Figure 1 is based on an example of plastic materials and their recycling loop. Plastic materials may include synthetic materials made from a wide range of organic polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl carbon, polyamide, and polyurethane. Material participants may include monomer and / or polymer producers 101.1, monomer and / or polymer users 101.2, such as compounders, molders, or converters, original equipment manufacturers 101.3, such as polymer-containing product producers, polymer-containing product users 101.4, such as retailers or consumers, waste collectors and / or sorters 101.5, and recycling system operators 101.6.

[0066] Monomers and / or polymers may be produced by chemical producers 101.1. Monomers and / or polymers may be supplied to polymer users 101.2, e.g., compounders, molders and / or converters. Monomers and / or polymers may be compounded, molded and / or converted. Compounded, molded and / or converted polymers may be supplied to polymer-containing product producers 101.3 (original equipment manufacturers - OEMs). Polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be produced using compounded, molded and / or converted polymers. Polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be supplied to users 101.4 of polymer-containing products or plastic articles. Polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be used by the users. When used, polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be disposed of by the users. Disposed polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be supplied to plastic waste collectors and / or sorters 101.5. A plastic waste stream 108 may be provided to a collector 101.5 for collecting polymer-containing products or plastic articles to be recycled. Discarded polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be collected in the plastic waste stream 108. The plastic waste stream 108 may be provided to a sorter 101.5 for sorting a fraction of polymer-containing products or plastic articles to be recycled. The plastic waste stream 108 may be sorted. The sorted fraction of polymer-containing products or plastic articles may be provided to a recycling system 101.6 for recycling the polymer-containing product or plastic article fraction. The recycled fraction may be provided to a chemical producer for producing new monomers and / or polymers, thus closing the material loop 100. A material stream 104 may close a loop between material participants. The material loop may include multiple production chains 110, including material suppliers (not shown), chemical producers 101.1, chemical users 101.2, and final product producers 101.3.The material loop may include multiple recycling chains 112, including final product collectors 101.5 and / or sorters, recycling operators 101.6 and chemical producers 101.1.

[0067] In addition to connections through material flow 104, material participants 101.1-6 of the circulating material loop 100 may be connected via data flow 105 through a decentralized network 102. The decentralized network 102 may include one or more decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 associated with material participants 101.1-6 of the material loop 100. In a distributed or decentralized network 102, in contrast to a centralized network, the decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 do not exclusively depend on a central network node. In other words, a single entity is not the sole authority of the network. The decentralized network 102 may include decentralized and central network nodes. The decentralized network 102 may include a central network node that can control and / or monitor the decentralized network nodes 103.1-6. For example, a central network node may provide authentication information that enables at least two decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 to establish peer-to-peer communication channels between each other.

[0068] Network nodes 103.1-6 may also be computing nodes. A computing node may be any device or system including at least one physical and tangible processor and physical and tangible memory on which computer executable instructions executed by the processor can be placed. Computing nodes are now taking on an increasingly diverse range of forms. A computing node may be, for example, a handheld device, a monitoring system, a control system, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mainframe, and / or a data center. The memory may take any form, depending on the nature and form of the computing node. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be connected via wired and / or wireless connections, such as Ethernet, USB, LAN, WLAN, etc. Wireless communication may use, for example, WLAN, Wi-Fi, cellular, and / or Bluetooth. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be configured to perform peer-to-peer data transactions, indicated by arrows 105 indicating data flow.

[0069] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be configured as network nodes that consume and / or provide data. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be configured to provide data to other network nodes in the decentralized network 102 and / or to consume data from other nodes in the decentralized network 102. For example, decentralized network nodes 103.1,3 associated with monomer and / or polymer producers 101.1, or polymer-containing product or plastic article producers 101.3, may be configured to provide data related to the production of their respective components to downstream participants such as plastic waste collectors or sorters 101.5 or recycling system operators 101.6. Furthermore, decentralized network nodes 103.5,6 associated with, for example, plastic waste collectors or sorters 101.5 or recycling system operators 101.6 may be configured to access data from network nodes 103.1-5 associated with upstream participants such as monomer and / or polymer producers 101.1 or polymer-containing product producers 101.3.

[0070] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may include computer executable instructions configured to provide, consume, and / or process data, for example, data related to the production of relevant monomers, polymers, polymer-containing products, or plastic articles produced or processed within the circular loop 100. Network nodes may perform data provision services configured to provide data to other decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 of the decentralized network 102. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 configured to provide data may be associated with data owners or data generation nodes associated with materials or products produced or processed within the circular loop 100. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be connected to one or more dedicated data storages that store data associated with materials or products produced or processed in the circular loop 100 (see, for example, Figure 9). Dedicated data storages may be under the control of data owners or data generation nodes associated with materials or products produced or processed in the circular loop 100. The data owner may be each participant 101.1-6 of the circular loop 100 to which the data generation nodes 103.1-6 are associated. The data generation nodes 103.1-6 may have access to dedicated data storage. Thus, access to data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the circular loop 100 may be under the control of the data owner to which each decentralized network node 103.1-6 is associated. This allows the data owner to maintain complete control over the data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the circular loop 100. At the same time, this enables the sharing of data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the circular loop 100 under controlled conditions, for example, by using appropriate protocols that include authorization and authentication mechanisms or schemes for establishing peer-to-peer communication.

[0071] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 configured to consume data may include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data within data associated with materials produced or processed within the circular loop 100 and provided by the decentralized network 102, for example, the decentralized data provision network nodes 103.1-6. The decentralized data consumption network nodes 103.1-6 may be controlled or owned by or associated with any upstream or downstream participant in the circular loop 100. For example, the decentralized data consumption network node 103.4 may be associated with a polymer-containing product or plastic article user 103.4 to enable access to monomer and / or polymer data associated with supplied monomers and / or polymers through the decentralized data provision network node 103.1 associated with the monomer and / or polymer producer 101.1.

[0072] The decentralized network 102 may include further decentralized network nodes 103.1-6. These further decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 do not necessarily have to be associated with further participants in the circular loop 100. The further nodes may be decentralized infrastructure service nodes (not shown in Figure 1). The decentralized infrastructure service nodes may provide services to the decentralized participant nodes 103.1-6, such as verifying the identity of the decentralized network participant nodes 103.1-6 before performing data exchange. The decentralized network participant nodes 103.1-6 may be associated with or include a certificate, such as an X.509 certificate. The certificate may be associated with an identity manager, such as a certificate issuance service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). In this way, decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be associated with or connected to a unique identifier embedded in an X.509 certificate that identifies each decentralized network node 103.1-6. The information necessary to verify the certificate may be provided through an authentication registry associated with a certificate issuing service and / or a dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model, version 3.0, April 2019, decentralized data serving network nodes associated with data owners, certificate authorities (CAs), dynamic attribute provisioning services (DAPS), and decentralized data consuming network nodes associated with data consumers are used to verify identity before performing data exchange (not shown).

[0073] Materials or products produced by participants 101.1-6 in the circular loop 100 may be associated with material or product data associated with the properties of the materials or products produced by participants 101.1-6 in the circular loop 100. Material or product data may be provided for access by decentralized data provision network nodes 103.1-6 associated with the producers of the materials or products. Access to material or product data may be controlled by decentralized data provision network nodes 103.1-6. Material or product data may be accessed by decentralized data consumption network nodes 103.1-6 associated with further participants 101.1-6 in the material loop 100, for example, any upstream or downstream participant 101.1-6.

[0074] The data flow 105 between decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be directly or indirectly associated with the material flows 104 and 106 between participants 101.1-6 of the material loop 100. For example, if data associated with chemical products provided from chemical producer 103.1 to chemical user 103.2 is accessed by decentralized data consumption network nodes 103.1-6 associated with chemical user 101.2, the data flow 105 may be directly associated with the material flows 104 and 105. For example, if data associated with chemical products produced by chemical producer 103.1 is accessed by decentralized data consumption network nodes 103.1-6 associated with recycling system operator 101.6, the data flow 105 may be indirectly associated with the material flows 104 and 106.

[0075] Data transactions between decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 may be based on decentralized identifiers associated with the material or product data being accessed. Decentralized identifiers may be associated with the physical entity of the material or product. Decentralized identifiers may be uniquely associated with the physical entity of the material or product. Decentralized identifiers may uniquely identify the material or product within the decentralized network 102. Decentralized identifiers may be associated with further decentralized identifiers, such as decentralized identifiers of the materials or products used to produce the final product. This may make it possible to track products, such as the materials or products used to produce the final product. Decentralized identifiers may be included in material access elements associated with the material or product, as described in more detail in the context of Figures 2-9.

[0076] In particular, the generation of access elements associated with data related to the production of plastic articles or their components at each stage of the production chain makes it possible to monitor the material flow through a decentralized network. Such monitoring by providing access to data related to the production of plastic articles or their components is illustrated in more detail by the examples in Figures 2 to 9 below.

[0077] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary method for generating an access element to monitor the production of plastic articles or their components by at least one material participant in a decentralized network.

[0078] Data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may be collected. The data may be collected before, during, and / or after the production of the plastic articles or their components. Components in this case may include any individual or non-individual components produced by any material participant in the production chain, such as monomers, polymers, components produced using monomers or polymers, and plastic articles produced using monomers, polymers or components. Plastic articles may refer to the final product of the production chain. Components may refer to any stage in the production chain. The production chain may include stages for producing plastic articles and / or for the production of plastic articles, such as compounding, molding and / or conversion, raw materials or recycled materials for producing monomers and / or polymers from individual components or individual component assemblies, intermediate materials or components.

[0079] The data may be generated in relation to one or more network nodes 103.1-4, for example, in relation to a data generation node associated with each producer 101.1-4. The data may relate to different stages in the production chain of plastic articles. The data may relate to the production of monomers, polymers, the use of polymers and / or monomers in the production of components, any non-individual or individual components of plastic articles produced using the produced monomers or polymers, or plastic articles produced using the produced monomers or polymers. The data may be specific to the produced monomers, produced polymers, any produced non-individual or individual components of plastic articles produced using the produced monomers or polymers, or plastic articles produced using the produced monomers, polymers or any non-individual or individual components. The data may be specific to individual entities or batches of plastic articles produced using the produced monomers, produced polymers, any produced non-individual or individual components of plastic articles produced using the produced monomers or any non-individual or individual components.

[0080] Data relating to the production of a plastic article or any of its components may include material composition data and / or article history data. Material composition data may relate to or identify the material composition of a plastic article or any of its components. For example, material composition data may relate to or identify plastic compounds, combinations of plastic compounds, composite materials, combinations of composite materials, foamed materials, combinations of foamed materials, additives, combinations of additives, or combinations thereof. Material composition data may further include important components or substances relating to one or more recycling processes. Important components or substances may be components or substances that affect the quality of the recyclable material that can be produced by the recycling process. For example, in the case of pyrolysis oil produced for use in a steam cracker, important components may interfere with the operation of the steam cracker. Components may include contaminants relating to pyrolysis oil for use in a flow cracker. Contaminants may include inorganic substances, such as sulfur, halogens, oxygen, phosphorus, metals, and aluminum, antinomy, barium, calcium chromium, copper, iron, potassium, sodium, lead, silicon, titanium, zinc, arsine, mercury, nickel, vanadium, or combinations thereof. The presence of these contaminants in the pyrolysis oil can negatively affect the operation of the steam cracker.

[0081] Material composition data may further relate to the level of decomposition of the materials used to produce the article or its components, the recycled content used to produce the article or its components, the monomer content used to produce the article or its components, and / or the polymer content used to produce the article or its components. Such data may be accessed by participants in the recycling chain, such as sorters, collectors and / or recyclers, before, during, and / or after processing such as sorting, collection and / or recycling, in order to determine the content of articles with specific levels of decomposition, recycled content, monomer content and / or polymer content. In this way, waste fractions at or after sorting can be reliably monitored.

[0082] Article history data may relate to the origin, use, and / or application of a plastic article or any of its components. Article history data may identify the origin, use, and / or application of a plastic article or any of its components. For example, origin may relate to the location, area, and / or producer of a plastic article or any of its components. Origin may refer to the location, area, and / or producer of monomers, polymers, and / or processed polymers, e.g., compounded polymers, molded polymers, or converted polymers. For example, use may relate to the use of a plastic article or any of its components. Use may refer to a specific area of ​​use for a plastic article or any of its components, such as food packaging, non-food packaging, automotive parts, furniture parts, electronic components, or battery components. For example, application may relate to any application of a plastic article or any of its components. Application may refer to a specific application for a plastic article or any of its components, such as bottles, bottle caps, foils, fibers, mattresses, or crates.

[0083] Such data may be accessed by sorters, collectors, and / or recyclers during sorting, collection, and / or recycling to monitor waste fractions during sorting or after more detailed sorting.

[0084] The data may include decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce plastic articles or their components. The data may be associated with one or more production inputs used to produce each entity in the plastic article production chain. Collecting data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may include collecting decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce plastic articles or their components.

[0085] Decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce plastic articles or their components may be collected by reading identifier elements such as barcodes or QR codes connected to the production inputs.

[0086] The data may include characteristic data. Characteristic data may relate to or include the properties of the plastic article or its components. The properties of the plastic article or its components may include performance properties, chemical properties such as flammability, toxicity, acidity, reactivity, and heat of combustion, and / or physical properties such as density, color, hardness, melting point, boiling point, and electrical conductivity.

[0087] By collecting data related to the production of plastic articles or their components at each stage of the production chain, a digital twin of each entity produced by one or more production participants in the production chain can be generated. In this way, entities from raw materials or recycled materials to plastic articles can be tracked within the material production chain.

[0088] Data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may be stored in dedicated storage associated with each production participant in the production chain that produces the plastic articles or their components. Data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may include different datasets related to the production of the plastic articles or their components. Such datasets may refer to the aforementioned datasets, such as material composition data, article history data, property data, emissions data, recycled content data, and bio-based content data.

[0089] One or more decentralized identifiers may be provided that are associated with the produced plastic articles or their components. One or more decentralized identifiers may be uniquely associated with the physical entities of the produced plastic articles or their components. One or more decentralized identifiers may be uniquely associated with any entity produced by any participant in the production chain. One or more decentralized identifiers may include any unique identifiers that are uniquely associated with the articles or their components, the producers in the production chain that produce the entities, and / or data related to the production of the plastic articles or their components. Decentralized identifiers may include or be associated with one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). Through the unique association of decentralized identifiers with the plastic articles or their components, data access to the data may be controlled by the producer. This is in contrast to a centralized system in which identifiers are provided by such a central authority and access to the data is controlled by such a central authority. Decentralized in this context means the use of identifiers in an implementation controlled by the data owner.

[0090] A decentralized identifier may include one or more identifiers used in a decentralized network that enable data exchange or peer-to-peer communication over the decentralized network. Data exchange may include the discovery of decentralized identifiers of participant nodes in the decentralized network, the authentication of participant nodes in the decentralized network, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between participant nodes in the decentralized network. A decentralized identifier may be associated with any participant in the production chain and each entity produced by such participant.

[0091] One or more digital representations of data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may be generated. A digital representation may be generated for each dataset contained in the data related to the production of plastic articles or their components. A digital representation may point to the collected data or a portion thereof. A digital representation may be associated with dedicated storage associated with a production participant in the production chain that produces plastic articles or their components and stores data related to the production of plastic articles or their components. A digital representation may include a locator or pointer that positions or points to dedicated storage associated with a production participant in the production chain that produces plastic articles or their components and stores data related to the production of plastic articles or their components.

[0092] A digital representation may include one or more digital links pointing to data related to the production of a plastic article or its components. A digital representation may include a locator or pointer, such as a URL or URI, to a dedicated storage address associated with a production participant in the production chain that produces the plastic article or its components and stores data related to the production of the plastic article or its components. A digital representation may include at least one interface to a data provisioning network node or a data provisioning service. A digital representation may include at least one interface to a data consumption network node or a data consumption service. This may include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint), which can be uniquely identified via a data transaction protocol. A digital representation pointing to the collected data or a portion thereof may be uniquely associated with a decentralized identifier. A decentralized identifier may be linked to a digital representation of the collected data or a portion thereof.

[0093] An access element may be generated that includes one or more decentralized identifiers and one or more digital representations. The access element may include, or be associated with, a digital representation of collected data or a portion thereof related to the production of a plastic article or its components. The access element may be associated with a plastic article or its components. The collected data or a digital representation of a portion thereof may be provided to a data consumption network node or a data consumption service. The collected data or a digital representation of a portion thereof may be provided by a decentralized network database, a database associated with a data consumption network node, a data provision network node associated with the producer of each entity, or a combination thereof. The digital representation may include a locator or pointer for accessing the collected data or a portion thereof. The access element may include, or be associated with, a digital representation of collected data or a portion thereof related to the production of a plastic article or its components, a decentralized identifier, and authentication information.

[0094] The access element may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and a digital article representation. One or more authentication mechanisms may be associated with or linked to a decentralized identifier, such as a decentralized producer identifier, a decentralized plastic article identifier, a decentralized component identifier, a decentralized polymer identifier, or a decentralized monomer identifier. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier may be accessible by a decentralized participant network node. The digital access element may further relate to authorization information linked to a decentralized identifier. Authorization information may be associated with a decentralized identifier and a digital representation. Authorization information may include access rules depending on the dataset being accessed and the role of the data-consuming network node accessing it.

[0095] Access elements may be provided for one or more data consumption network nodes, under the control of a data provision network node associated with a producer of a plastic article or its components, to access data related to the production of plastic articles. Access elements may be provided to a decentralized registry node, for example, as further described below. A decentralized registry node may store decentralized access elements.

[0096] Figure 3 illustrates another exemplary method for generating an access element to monitor the production of plastic articles or their components by at least one material participant in a decentralized network.

[0097] The data may be collected as described in the context of Figure 1 or Figure 2. Collecting data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may include collecting decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic articles or their components. Decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic articles or their components may be collected by reading identifier elements such as barcodes or QR codes connected to the production inputs.

[0098] One or more decentralized identifiers may be provided that are associated with the produced plastic article or any of its components, and one or more digital representations of data related to the production of the plastic article or its components may be generated, for example, as described in the context of Figure 1. The data related to the production of the plastic article or its components may include at least one dataset that is associated with, or contains, a decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components. A digital relationship may be generated based on the decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components and the decentralized identifier associated with the produced plastic article or its components. For example, the decentralized identifier associated with the produced plastic article or its components may be a parent identifier, and the decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components may be a child identifier. Generating a digital representation may include generating a relational representation based on the decentralized identifier associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components. The relational representation may include one or more digital links that point to data related to the relationship between the inputs and the plastic article or its components. A decentralized relationship identifier may be provided that is associated with a digital relationship. Providing such an identifier may include providing a relationship representation.

[0099] Access elements, including one or more decentralized identifiers and digital representations, can be generated and provided as described in the context of Figure 1. In addition, relational access elements, including decentralized relation identifiers and relational representations associated with digital relationships, can be generated. Relational access elements may include decentralized relation identifiers and relational representations. Access elements can be provided to one or more access element management nodes configured to provide the access element or a portion thereof at the request of data-consuming network nodes.

[0100] Relational access elements may be provided to allow one or more data-consuming network nodes to access digital relationships between plastic articles or their components and production inputs, under the control of a data-providing network node associated with a producer of a plastic article or its components. Relational access elements may be provided to a decentralized registry node, for example, as further described below. The decentralized registry node may store access elements and relational access elements associated with the plastic articles.

[0101] The material flow may be recursively accessed to monitor the material flow by accessing each data package through relational access elements at each stage of the production chain. The material composition data may include one or more datasets relating to recycling processes, the use of recycled materials, and / or materials important for recycling to participant types, for decentralized participant identifiers associated with data consumption network nodes requesting access to the material composition data, or for participant types associated with data consumption network nodes requesting access to the data. Such materials important for recycling may be provided at the time of production of the plastic article or its components and may be recursively accessed in a targeted manner, for example, depending on the decentralized participant ID, recycled material type, and / or recycling process ID. Such recursive access may be provided to specific participants in the material recycling chain to protect the producer's sensitive recipe data or bill of materials data. Recursive access via relational IDs and representations is described in more detail below.

[0102] Figure 4 shows an example of a method for accessing data related to the production of plastic articles or their components by one or more data-consuming network nodes, under the control of a data-providing network node associated with a producer of a plastic article or its components.

[0103] Data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, such as material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be accessed by decentralized data consumption network nodes that communicate with decentralized network nodes that receive instructions for collecting data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components. Access may be requested by decentralized data provision network nodes associated with a storage environment that stores data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, as described in the context of Figures 2 and 3.

[0104] A decentralized data provision network node may receive instructions to access data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, associated with a determined decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier may be determined, for example, in the context of Figures 5-8 based on relational representations, as described in more detail below.

[0105] Requests may be authenticated before access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be provided. In particular, decentralized network nodes that request access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, and / or decentralized data-providing network nodes that provide access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, may be authenticated. Such authentication may be based on a decentralized identifier associated with the decentralized network node. The decentralized identifier may be associated with authentication mechanisms or identity tokens such as device certificates (X.509v3), TLS connection certificates (X.509v3), and “dynamic attribute tokens” (OAuth access tokens). Decentralized network nodes that request access to data may be associated with any participant in the recycling chain, such as collectors, sorters, recyclers, or any combination thereof. Decentralized data-providing network nodes that provide access to data may be associated with any participant in the production chain, such as monomer producers, polymer producers, monomer users, polymer users, or plastic article producers.

[0106] If authentication fails, access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be denied. If authentication is valid, an authorization step may follow. Such authorization may be based on a decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network node and authorization rules associated with data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components. Authorization rules may be associated with access to and / or use of material composition data relating to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components. Authorization rules may include access rules associated with a decentralized identifier of a decentralized network node that controls access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components.

[0107] If authorization fails, access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be denied or modified. In particular, the requested authorization may be modified to comply with applicable authorization rules. If authorization is valid, access to data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be authorized in accordance with the requested authorization rules. The provided data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, may be stored in a storage environment associated with a decentralized network node requesting access to the data relating to the production of plastic articles or their components, particularly material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components.

[0108] Figure 5 illustrates a method for obtaining data related to the production of plastic articles or their components based on decentralized product identifiers and relationships. This method can be implemented in a decentralized network, for example, as described in the context of Figures 1 to 4.

[0109] A decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network participant may be provided to a decentralized network node that provides access to data of producers in a material chain, for example, as shown in Figure 1. A decentralized network participant may also be a producer participant in a production chain. A decentralized network participant may also be any participant in the material loop shown in the example in Figure 1, including the production and recycling chain. A decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network participant requesting access may contain strings and / or numbers. A decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network participant requesting access may be associated with an authentication scheme such as public-key cryptography. The use of a decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network participant requesting access allows for improved security regarding access to data related to the production of plastic articles or their components, as access to data related to the production of plastic articles or their components may be restricted, for example, as shown in the context of Figure 8, so that only defined decentralized network participants may be allowed to access such data. A decentralized identifier associated with a decentralized network participant requesting access may be provided to a decentralized identity management access node of the decentralized network. The decentralized identity management access node may be configured to perform an authentication step with the provider of the decentralized participant identifier. If authorization is successfully performed, the decentralized identity management access node may provide an access token. This access token may be presented to a decentralized network node that provides access to the data. Authentication ensures that the collection of data related to the production of plastic articles or their components using the decentralized network node requesting access can only be initiated by an authenticated decentralized network participant.This improves security by preventing unauthorized entities from obtaining the complete bill of materials tree of a product or part thereof, which may contain sensitive data related to the supply chain.

[0110] A decentralized network node requesting access may retrieve data related to a relational representation based on a decentralized identifier provided to a decentralized registry node, which is associated with a plastic article, one or more components of a plastic article, or a combination thereof. The decentralized registry node may store decentralized identifiers associated with the data related to each relational representation, for example, as described in the context of Figure 3. Relational representations are shown, for example, in Figure 7.

[0111] A decentralized network node requesting access may access the decentralized registry using a decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article or its components to determine data related to a relational expression associated with the decentralized identifier. The data related to a relational expression may include a decentralized relational expression identifier and a relational expression pointing to each digital relationship. A relational expression pointing to a digital relationship may have at least one interface to a decentralized data-providing network node associated with the digital relationship. It may further include at least one interface to a decentralized data-consuming network node associated with the digital relationship. It may include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint), uniquely identified via a communication protocol. Thus, a relational expression pointing to a digital relationship may be uniquely associated with a decentralized relation identifier and a decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article or its components. A relational expression pointing to a digital relationship can be viewed as a locator indicating the location or dedicated data storage where each digital relationship is stored.

[0112] Digital relationships can identify relationships between plastic articles and their components and production inputs, such as input components, used to produce the plastic articles or their components. Digital relationships may be directly or indirectly associated with decentralized identifiers associated with the plastic articles or their components. This makes it possible to determine each digital relationship using the decentralized identifiers associated with the plastic articles or their components. Digital relationships can identify that production inputs, such as input components, were used to produce the plastic articles or their components, and / or that the plastic articles or their components were produced using those components. Digital relationships may also be associated with relationships between plastic articles or their components and each production input, such as materials, used to produce the plastic articles or their components, for example, using decentralized identifiers associated with the plastic articles and component identifiers associated with all production inputs, such as input components, used to produce the plastic articles or their components. Thus, such relationships can also identify raw materials and intermediate products used in the production of the plastic articles or their components. Digital relationships may be associated with relationships between input and output materials at a single production step or stage in a production chain. Such relationships may be linked to reflect the entire article production chain. An example of a digital relationship that can be used to determine a decentralized component identifier is shown, for example, in Figure 7. By using digital relationships to determine a decentralized identifier associated with a plastic article or its components, it may be possible to construct a bill of materials tree structure for the plastic article or its components.

[0113] A decentralized network node requesting access to data may be configured to access relationships based on data related to those relationships retrieved from a decentralized registry node. A decentralized network node may communicate with a decentralized data consumption network node configured to access data relating to the production of digital relationships, such as material composition data, and plastic articles or their components. Digital relationships may be accessed from a decentralized data-serving network node associated with a storage environment that stores each relationship. A decentralized data-serving network node may be associated with the data owner. A decentralized data-serving network node may be associated with any participant in the production chain, such as a plastic article producer or component producer. A digital relationship may include a decentralized plastic article identifier and one or more decentralized component identifiers (hereinafter referred to as child identifiers) associated with production inputs, such as materials, used to produce the plastic article.

[0114] Decentralized child identifiers associated with a decentralized plastic article identifier may be determined based on the acquired digital relationship. A decentralized plastic article identifier may be considered a decentralized parent identifier. Decentralized child identifiers may correspond to component identifiers associated with materials used to produce the plastic article or its components. The relationship may include one or more decentralized child identifiers. The relationship may include a decentralized plastic article identifier. This allows a decentralized plastic article identifier to be linked to its respective child identifier.

[0115] Whether to retrieve data associated with a decentralized child identifier may be determined depending on whether the decentralized child identifier has further child identifiers. For example, if the child identifier is associated with material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, the data may be retrieved. If the child identifier is not associated with material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, the data may not be retrieved. This decision may be based on data provided to decentralized network nodes. For example, data associated with a defined dataset (hereinafter also referred to as an asset) may be provided, and this data may be used to determine whether to retrieve further data. The dataset may be associated with material composition data concerning substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components. The material composition data may include one or more datasets concerning recycling processes, the use of recyclables, and / or substances important for recycling to participant types for decentralized participant identifiers associated with data-consuming network nodes requesting access to the material composition data, or for participant types associated with data-consuming network nodes requesting access to the data. Based on such information provided to registry nodes and / or data-providing network nodes, it may be determined whether the data should be provided. If material composition data regarding substances important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components should be obtained, this method obtains the data. Otherwise, it proceeds to a check for decentralized child identifiers.

[0116] Production-related data, such as material composition data, may be retrieved based on a determined decentralized child identifier. Production-related data, such as material composition data, may be retrieved from a decentralized data provision network node associated with the production-related data. Each decentralized data provision network node may be determined by a decentralized network node using a determined decentralized child identifier. For example, a decentralized child identifier may be associated with a digital representation that points to data related to production or a part thereof. The digital representation may correspond to an endpoint address associated with each decentralized data provision network node. The digital representation may be stored in a decentralized registry node, which may be determined using a previously determined decentralized child identifier. The digital representation may be used to access production-related data at the decentralized data provision network node associated with the digital representation. A decentralized data provision network node may be associated with a storage environment that stores the production-related data or a part thereof. A decentralized data provision network node may be associated with the data owner of the production-related data. Decentralized data-providing network nodes may be associated with the producers of each item or its components. Data exchange may take place after each authentication and authorization process. Authorization may be based on a decentralized participant identifier. For example, a decentralized data-providing network node may determine whether it can access production-related data using authorization or access rules associated with the provided decentralized participant identifier. Accessed production-related data may be transferred to and stored in a storage environment associated with the decentralized network node requesting access to the data.

[0117] It may be determined whether a relationship exists for the determined decentralized child identifier. For this purpose, a decentralized network node requesting data may access a decentralized registry node and determine whether a relationship representation associated with the determined decentralized child identifier exists in the registry. If so, the method proceeds to determine the child identifier. Otherwise, the method proceeds to access and retrieve the data.

[0118] Data related to relational representations associated with determined decentralized child identifiers can be obtained from network nodes of a decentralized registry, as described above. Relational representations can be used to access related digital relationships, as described above. Determined decentralized child identifiers may also be considered decentralized parent identifiers. The method can return to such a determination and repeat the steps using the determined decentralized child identifiers until no further decentralized child identifiers exist, for example, until a leaf node of a bill of materials tree is reached (see, for example, Figure 6). Recursively determining decentralized child identifiers associated with decentralized component identifiers makes it possible to obtain the complete bill of materials tree structure associated with a plastic article or its components, for example, to determine the relationships between the materials used to produce the plastic article or its components.

[0119] In the final step, collected production data, such as material composition data, may be provided. The collected data may include all production-related data collected based on child identifiers from different participant network nodes. The production-related collected data may be provided to a storage environment associated with the network node requesting the data. The network node requesting the production-related data may be part of a decentralized network, for example, a decentralized data consumption network node.

[0120] Figure 6 shows a relational representation that identifies the relationship between a plastic article or a part thereof and the materials used to produce the plastic article or its components.

[0121] A digital twin (DT) of a plastic article may include a relationship that includes a decentralized digital twin identifier ID5 and a decentralized identifier ID4 associated with a molding component used to produce the plastic article. The relationship may be associated with data related to the relationship. The data may be used by a decentralized network node to collect the relationship representation from a decentralized data consumption network node associated with the relationship representation (e.g., associated with a storage environment that stores the relationship representation), as described in the context of Figure 5. The data related to the relationship representation may include a decentralized relationship representation identifier and a digital representation that points to the relationship. The data related to the relationship may be associated with data related to the digital twin. The data related to the digital twin may include a decentralized digital twin identifier and a digital representation that points to the digital twin or a portion thereof. The data related to the digital twin may further include a decentralized identifier associated with a dataset contained in the digital twin, and each digital representation that points to the dataset or a portion thereof. One such dataset may correspond to relational representation 1628, for example, decentralized identifiers may correspond to the aforementioned decentralized relational representation identifiers.

[0122] Similarly, a digital twin (DT) of a molding component may include a relationship involving a decentralized digital twin identifier ID4 and a decentralized identifier ID3 associated with the polymer used to produce the molding component. A digital twin (DT) of a polymer may include a relationship involving a decentralized digital twin identifier ID3 and a decentralized identifier ID2 associated with the monomer used to produce the polymer. Finally, a monomer may include a relationship with a raw material component ID1 used to produce the monomer.

[0123] Based on the relationships shown in Figure 6, a portion of the bill of materials tree can be obtained from the relationship representation described above. The bill of materials tree may include plastic articles as the final product at the top level, down to the raw materials as input materials for generating monomers at the lowest level. In order to avoid exposing the complete bill of materials to a single participant, material composition data, including one or more datasets of recycling-critical substances per recycling process, per use of recycled material, and / or per decentralized participant, can be accessed in a controlled manner based on the recycling process, use of recycled material, and / or decentralized participant identifier, as described in the context of Figures 3 and 5.

[0124] Figure 7 shows an example of a decentralized network that includes several decentralized network nodes that can be accessed by computing devices. The computing devices may be mobile computing devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. They may also be stationary computing devices such as desktop computers. The computing devices may have screens configured to display information provided by the decentralized network. For example, the screens may display a graphical user interface that displays data received via the decentralized network.

[0125] A decentralized network can be a decentralized peer-to-peer communication network. A decentralized network may include decentralized network nodes associated with participants in a plastic articles ecosystem and may be configured to perform data transactions. A plastic articles ecosystem may include a plastic articles production chain. A plastic articles ecosystem may include a plastic articles recycling chain. Network nodes associated with participants in a plastic articles ecosystem may be associated with, for example, raw material chemical suppliers, intermediate chemical manufacturers, intermediate parts manufacturers, component manufacturers, component assembly manufacturers, final product manufacturers, and participants in the recycling chain, as illustrated in the context of Figure 1. The production of plastic articles may include a supply chain for producing materials used to produce plastic articles. Data transactions may be based on a transaction protocol that includes authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, peer-to-peer communication may be established between decentralized participant network nodes associated with participants in a plastic articles ecosystem. One or more authentication mechanisms may be associated with or linked to decentralized identifiers such as decentralized plastic article identifiers, decentralized component identifiers, and / or decentralized monomer / polymer identifiers. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with decentralized identifiers may be accessible by decentralized participant network nodes.

[0126] Decentralized network nodes associated with participants in the plastic articles ecosystem may include decentralized data-providing network nodes. Decentralized data-providing network nodes may be configured to provide data, such as material composition data, upon request for access to this data. Data may be provided, for example, during successful authentication and authorization, as described in the context of Figure 4. Decentralized data-providing network nodes may also be associated with data owners of material composition data, for example, as described in the context of Figures 2 through 6. Such decentralized network nodes associated with participants in the plastic articles ecosystem may include decentralized data-consuming network nodes, such as decentralized network nodes. Decentralized data-consuming network nodes may be configured to request access to data, such as product data or material data, at their respective decentralized data-providing network nodes. A decentralized data consumption network node may be configured to access data pointing to material composition data, such as decentralized plastic article identifiers / decentralized component identifiers / decentralized monomer / polymer identifiers and associated digital representations pointing to material composition data, from a decentralized registry node. A decentralized registry node may be configured to store decentralized identifiers associated with each digital representation pointing to the data or a portion thereof. Access to said data enables the decentralized data consumption network node to determine the decentralized data provision network node associated with the data to be retrieved. For example, a decentralized data consumption network node may access a decentralized registry node using a decentralized plastic article identifier associated with a plastic article or a component thereof, or a decentralized component identifier associated with a component of a plastic article, and retrieve each digital representation pointing to material composition data.

[0127] A decentralized network node may include a decentralized infrastructure node. Such an infrastructure node does not have to be associated with a participant in the product ecosystem. Such an infrastructure node may provide services to a participant in the product ecosystem. For example, such an infrastructure node may be configured to provide authentication services to a decentralized network node, such as a decentralized IAM network node. A decentralized IAM network node may be configured to provide identity and access management services to computing devices that request data from a decentralized network node and / or a decentralized network. For example, a decentralized IAM network node may be configured to generate access tokens to authorized decentralized network nodes and / or computing devices and to provide such access tokens to a decentralized network node or computing device that requests such tokens. Such access tokens may be used during the authentication process. In another example, such an infrastructure node may be configured to collect data when it receives requests from computing devices, such as a computing device (e.g., a decentralized network node). In yet another example, such an infrastructure node could function as a repository for storing data available to one or more decentralized network nodes, such as a decentralized registry node.

[0128] A decentralized configuration enables more efficient use of computing resources and enhances control by data owners in decentralized networks.

[0129] Figure 8 shows an exemplary system for obtaining production-related data based on decentralized plastic article identifiers, such as those described in the context of Figures 4 to 7.

[0130] A plastic article or its components may be associated with a digital twin. The digital twin of a plastic article or its components may include a decentralized plastic article identifier and production-related data such as material composition data. Production-related data may include, for example, the data structure described in the context of Figure 2. The digital twin of a component may include a decentralized component identifier and production-related data such as material composition data. Production-related data may include material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of the plastic article or its components.

[0131] Digital access elements may be generated before, during, or after the production of a plastic article or its components. Digital access elements may be associated with each digital twin or a portion thereof. A digital access element may include a decentralized access element identifier and access data. The decentralized access element identifier may correspond to or be associated with a decentralized article identifier or a decentralized component identifier. Access data may include a digital representation pointing to each digital twin or a portion thereof. Access data may include or be associated with a relational representation pointing to each digital relationship or a portion thereof. Examples of digital access element generation are shown in Figures 2, 3, 6, or 7. A digital access element may further include or be associated with authentication and / or authorization information linked to the decentralized access element identifier. Authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of decentralized network nodes, decentralized data consumption network nodes, and / or decentralized data provision network nodes. The digital access element may be provided to a decentralized registry node, for example, as described in the context of Figures 2 and 3. The decentralized registry node may store the decentralized access element identifier and associated access data.

[0132] Plastic articles or their components may be provided in connection with a digital access element to a company that performs at least one recycling step in a recycling process, such as sorting, collection, and mechanical or chemical recycling, as described, for example, in the context of Figure 1. The company may perform the recycling step to produce recyclables from a stream of plastic waste. The plastic articles or their components may be connected to an identifier element, such as a barcode or QR code encoding a decentralized access element identifier. A recycling company receiving the plastic articles or their components may read the code through a code reader. The code reader may be a smartphone running a code reading application, such as a QR code reader app. Data obtained by the code reading application may be used to determine the decentralized access element identifier (hereinafter referred to as DID1). Data obtained by the code reading application may be used to determine the decentralized article identifier or decentralized component identifier (hereinafter referred to as UUID1). Data obtained by the code reading application may be used to determine the plastic article identifier / component identifier. Data obtained by the code reading application may be used to determine access data. The decentralized access element identifier, decentralized plastic article identifier, or decentralized component identifier and access data may be determined by the code reader. For example, the decentralized access element identifier determined by the code reader may be a DID, and the code reader may be configured to retrieve the relevant DID document containing the decentralized plastic article identifier or decentralized component identifier and access data, for example, using a DID resolver. In another example, the plastic article identifier / component identifier is determined by the code reader and used to retrieve the decentralized access element identifier and associated access data, for example, from a decentralized registry node.Therefore, the code reader may be configured to retrieve digital access elements, including decentralized access element identifiers and access data, from a decentralized registry node. The code reader may also be configured to perform an authentication step with the decentralized registry node. For example, the code reader may have access to a decentralized IAM network node, which may be configured to provide the code reader with an access token upon successful authentication. This access token may be used by the code reader to access the decentralized registry node. The code reader may provide the decentralized IAM network node with decentralized participant identifiers associated with participants in the plastic articles ecosystem for authentication.

[0133] The code reader may be configured to provide decentralized plastic item identifiers / decentralized component identifiers (e.g., UUID1) to decentralized network nodes. The code reader may also be configured to provide decentralized network nodes with authentication data such as decentralized participant identifiers, and optionally authentication data such as access tokens.

[0134] A decentralized network node may be configured to validate authentication data received from a computing device using a decentralized IAM network node. Upon successful authentication, the decentralized network node may be configured to access a decentralized registry node using a decentralized product identifier / decentralized recycled component identifier received from the computing device and retrieve data related to relational expressions associated with a decentralized plastic article identifier / decentralized component identifier. Data related to relational expressions may include a decentralized relational expression identifier and relational expressions pointing to their respective digital relationships. Relational expressions pointing to digital relationships may point to decentralized data-serving network nodes associated with their respective digital relationships. For example, data related to a relational expression associated with a plastic article may include a relational expression pointing to a decentralized data-serving network node associated with material composition data of the components or production inputs used to produce the plastic article. In another example, data related to a relational expression associated with a component may include a relational expression pointing to a decentralized data-serving network node associated with the material composition data of that component or the production inputs used to produce that component. For example, as shown in Figure 7, a decentralized network node or decentralized data consumption network node associated with any producer in an goods production chain may be configured to access the respective decentralized data provision network node associated with the relational representation and to request the relational representation associated with the decentralized relational representation identifier from the decentralized data provision network node. An example of a relational representation is shown in Figure 6. The decentralized network node may be configured to determine the decentralized component identifiers included in the relational representation, for example, as described in the context of Figure 5. The decentralized network node may be configured to use the determined decentralized child identifier to access a decentralized registry node and to determine the access data associated with the decentralized child identifier.A decentralized network node may be configured to access material composition data using decentralized article / component identifiers, access data, and optionally decentralized participant identifiers provided by computing devices from each decentralized data-providing network node. As described above, a decentralized network node may be configured to determine data related to relational representations associated with determined decentralized article / component identifiers.

[0135] In this example, a decentralized network node may receive a decentralized item identifier associated with a plastic item from a computing device. The decentralized network node may use the decentralized item identifier to access a decentralized registry node to determine data related to a relational representation associated with the decentralized item identifier.

[0136] The determined data related to a relational representation may include a relational representation that points to a decentralized data-serving network node associated with the digital relation. The digital relation may be stored in a storage environment associated with the decentralized data-serving network node. The digital relation may also include a relation that points to a decentralized component identifier associated with a component used to produce plastic articles, such as polymers and monomers. A decentralized network node or a decentralized data-consuming network node associated with a decentralized network node may be configured to access digital relations from the decentralized data-serving network node. A decentralized network node or a decentralized data-consuming network node associated with a decentralized network node may be configured to access material composition data from the decentralized data-serving network node. Access to material composition data may be authorized based on a decentralized participant identifier provided by a computing device. Access to material composition data may be controlled by the decentralized data-serving network node associated with the material composition data. This ensures that only authorized participants in the plastic articles ecosystem can access the material composition data and thus avoids uncontrolled access to the material composition data.

[0137] A decentralized network node may be configured to retrieve decentralized component identifiers associated with components used to produce plastic articles, such as molded polymers and composite polymers, from accessed digital relationships. The decentralized network node may be configured to use the determined decentralized component identifiers to access data related to relationship representations associated with the decentralized component identifiers from a decentralized registry node. A decentralized network node or decentralized data consumption network node may be configured to access digital relationships from, for example, a decentralized data provision network node associated with material composition data. The material composition data set may relate to or identify substances important for recycling plastic articles or their components by mechanical and / or chemical recycling processes.

[0138] A decentralized network node may be configured to retrieve a decentralized component identifier associated with the polymer or monomer used to generate the component from an accessed relational representation. The decentralized network node may be configured to use the determined decentralized component identifier to access data from a decentralized registry node related to the relational representation associated with the decentralized component identifier. A decentralized network node or decentralized data consumption network node may be configured to access digital relations from, for example, a decentralized data provision network node associated with material composition data. The material composition data may be stored in a storage environment (DT storage) associated with the decentralized data provision network node. The DT storage may be associated with or under the control of a polymer or monomer producer. The decentralized network node or decentralized data consumption network node may be configured to access the material composition data as described above. The material composition dataset may relate to or identify substances that are important for recycling plastic articles or their components by mechanical and / or chemical recycling processes.

[0139] The same procedure may be performed for each component of a plastic article used to produce a plastic article. Therefore, a decentralized network node may be configured to determine a bill of materials tree associated with a plastic article or its components, based on accessed digital relationships and links between the decentralized identifier of the starting component and the resulting component / plastic article. The bill of materials tree may represent the relationships between all components used to produce the plastic article or its components. Thus, the recursive determination of decentralized component identifiers using digital relationships makes it possible to obtain material composition data for components used to produce a plastic article or its components, and which are important for the recycling of the plastic article or its components.

[0140] Material composition data collected by decentralized network nodes may be provided to a computing device. The computing device may display the collected material composition data, for example, within a graphical user interface.

[0141] Figure 9 shows an example of a method or apparatus for providing material composition and / or article history data via a decentralized network 102.

[0142] Waste articles 900 provided by an article user or producer may be provided in relation to an access element, for example, as described in the context of Figures 1, 2 or 3 and 4-8. The access element may be related to an article identifier. The article identifier may include one or more decentralized identifiers. The decentralized identifier may also be an identifier of the decentralized network 102 that enables data exchange over the decentralized network 102. The data exchange may include the discovery of a decentralized identifier for a decentralized network node 103 associated with a participant 101 of the decentralized network 102, the authentication of the decentralized network node 103 associated with a participant 101 of the decentralized network 102, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between the decentralized network nodes 103 associated with a participant 101 of the decentralized network 102.

[0143] The access element may include, or be related to, data relating to an article, such as article characteristic data associated with article properties, e.g., composition and / or article history data. The access element may include a digital representation of article data associated with article 900. The access element may further include, or be related to, authentication and / or authorization information linked to the article identifier. Authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of data provision services and / or data consumption services performed by decentralized network nodes 103.5, 103.3. The article identifier may include, or be related to, a decentralized identifier uniquely associated with an article. The decentralized identifier may be linked to a digital representation of article data associated with article 904. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the article data or a portion thereof. The decentralized identifier may include a universally unique identifier (UUID) or a digital identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and / or the article.

[0144] The data owner may be the producer of the goods. This can be controlled by the data owner through decentralized identifiers and their unique association with the data owner, and / or access to the goods data, as described in the context of Figures 4-8.

[0145] Access elements, including digital representations of item data, may be stored in a decentralized database or registry node 910. Item data may be stored in a database 902 associated with the data owner, for example, the producer of item 900.

[0146] Article 904 may be physically delivered to a user who uses and disposes of the article. Article 900 may be physically collected and / or sorted by an article collector and / or sorter. The article may be associated with a QR code encoding an article identifier. The user, collector, or sorter of article 904 may read the QR code via a QR code reader 906. The article identifier may be provided to a database 910 associated with the producer of article 900. In another embodiment, the producer of article 900 may retrieve the article identifier via a decentralized database 910.

[0147] In this example, the data owner could be an article producer, any intermediate product producer that produces intermediate products for an article, or any producer that produces products based on an article. The data owner may include any entity that generates the data.

[0148] A data generation node may be connected to the data owner or an entity that owns or produces the physical product on which the data is generated. The data may also be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of the entity that owns the physical item on which the data is generated.

[0149] The data consumption service performed by node 103.5 may include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as item data associated with a data owner. The data provision service implemented by node 103.3 may include computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as item data associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consumption service performing node 103.5.

[0150] Based on the received item identifier, requests to access item data associated with the item identifier may be triggered by a data consumption service implemented by node 103.5, as indicated by arrow 912. The item identifier may be provided to a data provision service associated with the producer of item 900, or implemented by the producer's node 103.3. In addition, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided.

[0151] A request may be authenticated and / or authorized to access item data associated with an item identifier. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication, access to item data associated with an item identifier may be authorized.

[0152] For access, the item identifier may be provided to the data provision service performed by node 103.3, as indicated by arrow 912. The data provision service performed by node 103.3 may use the received item identifier to retrieve item data associated with item 900 from dedicated storage 902, as indicated by arrows 918 and 920. Item data associated with item 904, provided to the data provision service performed by node 103.5, may be provided to the data consumption service performed by node 103.5, as indicated by arrow 916. The item data associated with item 904 may be stored in dedicated storage or database 908 associated with the user, collector, or sorter of item 904, as indicated by arrow 922.

[0153] Through item identifiers or decentralized identifiers, item data can be uniquely associated with items 900, 904. Through a decentralized network, item data can be transferred between the producers of the items and the users, collectors, or sorters of the items. In this way, item data, along with its unique association to the items, can be directly shared between players in the decentralized network 102 without central mediation. This enables controlled transparency of item data across the material loop 100.

[0154] This disclosure is described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples. However, other variations can be understood and achieved by those skilled in the art practicing the claimed invention from the drawings, this disclosure, and the study of the claims.

[0155] Any steps presented herein can be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to any particular order of these steps. Furthermore, different steps do not need to be performed at a specific location or specific computing node in a distributed system; that is, each step may be performed at a different computing node using different equipment / data processing.

[0156] Where used herein, “determine” also includes “initiate a decision” or “cause a decision,” “generate” also includes “initiate a generation and / or cause a generation,” and “provide” also includes “initiate or cause to determine, generate, select, transmit, and / or receive.” “Initiate or cause an action” includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action.

[0157] In the claims and specification, the words “comprising” or “including” or similar expressions should not be construed as limiting to the elements or steps described, nor should they be excluded from other elements or steps. The indefinite articles “a” or “an” are not plural. A single element or other unit may perform the function of several entities or items described in the claims. The mere fact that certain means are described in different dependent claims does not imply that combinations of these means cannot be used in a favorable implementation or that they must include further elements.

[0158] Providing information within the scope of this disclosure may include any interface configured to provide data. This may include application programming interfaces, human-machine interfaces such as displays, and / or software module interfaces. Providing information may include the communication of data or the submission of data to an interface, in particular display to a user or use of the data by a receiving entity.

[0159] Any disclosures and embodiments described herein relate to the methods, systems, apparatus, devices, chemicals, materials, and computer program elements listed above, and vice versa. Advantageously, any advantages provided by any embodiment and example are equally applicable to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0160] All terms and definitions used herein are widely understood and have their general meanings. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0161] 100 Circulating Material Loop 101.1 Monomer and / or polymer producers, chemical producers, and material participants 101.2 Monomer and / or polymer users, chemical users 101.3 Producers of polymer-containing products, original trademark manufacturers, and final product manufacturers 101.4 Users of polymer-containing products 101.5 Waste collectors and / or sorters 101.6 Recycling system operator, recycling system 102 Decentralized Networks 103.1 Chemical producers 103.2 Chemical product users 103.3 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) 103.4 End Product User 103.5 EOL product collectors and / or sorters 103.6 Recycling System Operator 104 Material flow 105 Dataflow 106 Material flow 108 Plastic waste flows 110 Production Chain 112 Recycling Chain 900 Goods 902 Database, dedicated storage 904 Goods 906 QR code reader 908 Dedicated storage or database 910 Database or registry node 912 Arrow 916 Arrow 918 Arrow 920 Arrow 922 Arrow

Claims

1. A method for monitoring one or more substances that are important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, wherein the method is In connection with the production of the plastic article or its components, the steps include collecting material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of the plastic article or its components, The steps include providing one or more decentralized identifiers associated with the produced plastic article or its components, The steps include generating one or more digital representations of the material composition data, The steps of generating one or more access elements including the one or more decentralized identifiers and the one or more digital representations, The steps include providing the one or more access elements to the decentralized network for access to the material composition data by one or more data consumption network nodes of the decentralized network, under the control of a data provision network node associated with the producer of the plastic article or its components; Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material composition data relating to substances important for recycling is collected by the producer of the plastic article or its components in connection with the production of the plastic article or its components.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein input data associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components is collected.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein input data associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components, in particular, one or more associated decentralized identifiers of the one or more production inputs, are collected.

5. The method according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein a digital relationship is generated based on the one or more decentralized identifiers associated with one or more production inputs used to produce the plastic article or its components.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a decentralized relationship identifier associated with the digital relationship is provided, a relationship representation of the digital relationship is generated, a relationship access element including the decentralized relationship identifier and the relationship representation is generated, and the relationship access element is provided for access to the digital relationship by one or more data consumption network nodes under the control of a data provision network node associated with the producer of the plastic article or its components.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the relational access element is provided for use in the producer's production process, which provides access through the data provision network node associated with the producer, to access the digital relationship between the production input and the plastic article or its components.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the material composition data identifies substances important for recycling the plastic article or its components by a chemical recycling process.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the material composition data comprises one or more datasets relating to one or more substances important to one or more recycling processes, uses and / or types of recycled materials of participants associated with the data consumption network node requesting access to the material composition data.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the access element may relate to authorization rules that provide access to a material composition dataset depending on one or more recycling processes, the use of recycled materials and / or the type of participant, and the access element is provided by one or more data consumption network nodes associated with one or more participants in a recycling chain that performs one or more processes for recycling for access to a material composition dataset containing materials important for recycling depending on one or more recycling processes, the use of recycled materials and / or the type of participant.

11. A device for monitoring one or more substances that are important for the recycling of plastic articles or their components, wherein the device is A data collection interface configured to collect material composition data relating to substances important for the recycling of the plastic article or its components in connection with the production of the plastic article or its components, An identifier providing interface configured to provide one or more decentralized identifiers associated with the produced plastic article or its components, A representation generator configured to generate one or more digital representations of the material composition data, An access element generator configured to generate one or more access elements including the one or more decentralized identifiers and the one or more digital representations, A decentralized network interface configured to provide the decentralized network with the material composition data to one or more access elements for access to the decentralized network, under the control of a data-providing network node associated with the producer of the plastic article or its components, and to provide the decentralized network with the material composition data to one or more access elements for access to the decentralized network by one or more data-consuming network nodes of the decentralized network. A device equipped with the following features.

12. A method for accessing one or more important substances in a plastic article to be recycled, wherein the method is The steps include providing at least one decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article to be recycled, The steps of collecting one or more representations relating to the decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or by the apparatus described in claim 11, The steps include requesting access to material composition data from the producer of the plastic article and / or from one or more producers of the components of the plastic article to be recycled. Methods that include...

13. A device for accessing one or more important materials in a plastic article to be recycled, wherein the device is An identifier providing interface configured to provide at least one decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article to be recycled, An expression retrieval device configured to collect one or more expressions related to the decentralized identifier associated with the plastic article to be recycled, based on one or more access elements generated and / or provided by the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10 or by the apparatus described in claim 11, An access requester configured to request access to material composition data from the producer of the plastic article and / or one or more producers of the components of the plastic article to be recycled. A device equipped with the following features.

14. A decentralized network node configured to provide one or more access elements by the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or by the apparatus described in claim 11, or a decentralized network node configured to access material composition data by the method described in claim 12, or by the apparatus described in claim 13.

15. A plastic article associated with one or more access elements, produced and provided by the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or by the apparatus described in claim 11.

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