Method for controlling input of waste material to a production plant

Abstract

The disclosure is directed to a computer implemented method for controlling input of waste material (206) to a production plant (400) for producing a product (402) and comprises providing waste material data (MD) associated with waste materials (W1, W2, W3) and relating to a technical property (TP1, TP2, TP3) of the waste materials, providing target production data (TD) associated with a target technical property (TTP) of the product (402), determining selection data (SD) associated with a selected waste material mix (206) based on the waste material data and the target production data by generating technical property data (TPD) associated with an expected technical property (ETP) of the product, generating a control signal based (CS) on the determined selection data and providing the control signal for controlling the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

Description

[0001] 240957W001

[0002] 1

[0003] METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INPUT OF WASTE MATERIAL TO A PRODUCTION PLANT

[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0005] The present disclosure is directed to a computer implemented method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material, to a control device for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material, to a waste material provision arrangement for providing waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material, to a production plant for producing a product associated with a target technical property thereof, the production of the product at least partially based on waste materials and to a computer program.

[0006] TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

[0007] The present disclosure relates, in general terms, to the field of circular economy. Circular economy refers to a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

[0008] In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum. When a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the economy wherever possible thanks to recycling. These can be productively used again and again, thereby creating further value.

[0009] However, poor end-of-life management can lead to recycled materials of poor quality, which, in turn, limits the applications these materials can be used in, especially when the product produced from the waste materials is associated with predetermined material requirements.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In an aspect is disclosed a computer implemented method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material, the method comprising: providing waste material data associated with one or more waste materials, wherein the waste material data relates to at least one technical property of the one or more waste materials; providing target production data associated with a target technical property of the product to be produced; determining based on the provided waste material data and the provided target production data selection data associated with a selected waste material mix comprising one or more waste materials, wherein determining selection data includes generating technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix, each 240957W001

[0012] 2 waste material of the one or more waste materials being associated with the respective technical property; generating a control signal based on the determined selection data; and providing the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

[0013] In another aspect, the disclosure is related to a computer implemented method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material. The computer implemented method comprises:

[0014] - providing waste material data associated with one or more waste materials, wherein the waste material data relates to at least one technical property of the one or more waste materials;

[0015] - providing target production data associated with a target technical property of the product to be produced;

[0016] - determining selection data associated with a selected waste material mix comprising one or more waste materials based on the waste material data and the target production data by generating technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix;

[0017] - generating a control signal based on the selected waste material mix; and

[0018] - providing the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

[0019] Thus, the waste materials that are available for production are associated to corresponding waste material data that indicate the at least one technical property of the corresponding waste material. The target production data indicates a technical property of the product to be produced, which is referred to as target technical property.

[0020] In order to provide input material for the production of the product for meeting the target technical property, the waste material mix is selected by determining respective selection data. The selection data is determined such that the resulting technical property associated with the selected waste material mix, referred to as expected technical property, complies with the target technical property. The expected technical property is related to a product to be produced when a certain waste material mix is used for the production. Thus, different waste material mixes that comprise different waste materials and / or different proportions of waste materials, each waste material associated with the respective technical property, when used for the production of the product, would result in a produced product having an expected technical property. A waste material mix is selected for which the expected technical product complies with the requirements set by the target technical property.

[0021] Based on the selected waste material mix, control signals are generated and provided for controlling and / or monitoring the provision (or input) of the selected waste material mix associated with the selection data, to a production plant for producing the product such that the target technical property is met.

[0022] The production of the product may involve other sources of materials besides the waste material mix, which can be recycled or not. 240957W001

[0023] 3

[0024] In the context of the present disclosure, the expression "monitoring the input of waste material” may be understood broadly, and may refer, for example, to any kind of monitoring of the provision process in terms of tracking the operation parameters of the different processes involved in the provision of a material (e.g. provision and / or request of a specific quantity of a waste material, preparation of the selected waste material mix, transport of the selected waste material mix, etc.). Further, "monitoring the input of waste material" may also include planning the provision of the selected waste material mix, which can be done in a planning phase before implementing the actual provision process. Monitoring the provision process can also refer to a tracking of an environmental impact attribute, e.g., a product carbon footprint (PCF), of the selection and / or provision process of the provided waster material mix, validation and / or evaluation of the environmental impact attribute, ensuring that the environmental impact attribute of the provided waste material mix reaches or does not exceed a target environmental impact attribute, or the like, by monitoring the selection and / or provision process.

[0025] Further, the expression "controlling the input of waste material” may refer to any controlling measure or intervention within the selection and / or provision process. For instance, the selection and / or provision process can be controlled in a specific manner that affects the technical property data of the selected waste material mix provided as input material. This may comprise generating a control signal that modifies or adapts the selection and / or provision processes, e.g. in or via a selection control system, an enterprise resource planning systems, or the like. For example, such a controlling measure or intervention may, for example, comprise controlling the selection and / or provision in terms of the expected technical property of the product to be produces at least partially from the waste material mix. A controlling measure can also be directed to controlling the environmental impact attribute (e.g., PCF) associated with the provided waste material mix, e.g. by changing the process parameters of a selection and / or provision process, e.g. by technical modification of the process steps In other words, controlling the input of waste material may change one or more process parameters in the selection and / or provision reality and thus directly or indirectly adapt the expected technical property to the target technical property. Further, "controlling the recycling" may also include planning the selection and / or provision process, which can be done in a planning phase before implementing the actual processes.

[0026] In another aspect is disclosed a control device for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material. The control device comprises

[0027] - a waste material data providing unit configured to provide waste material data associated with one or more waste materials, wherein the waste material data relates to at least one technical property of the one or more waste materials;

[0028] - a target production data providing unit configured to provide target production data associated with a target technical property of the product to be produced;

[0029] - a selection data determination unit configured to determine - based on the provided waste material data and the provided target production data - selection data associated with a selected waste material mix comprising one or 240957W001

[0030] 4 more waste materials, wherein to determine the selection data to includes generating technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix, each waste material of the one or more waste materials being associated with the respective technical property;

[0031] - a processing unit configured to generate a control signal based on the selected waste material mix and to provide the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

[0032] In yet another aspect, the disclosure is related to a control device for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material. The control device comprises

[0033] - a waste material data providing unit configured to provide waste material data associated with one or more waste materials, wherein the waste material data relates to at least one technical property of the one or more waste materials;

[0034] - a target production data providing unit configured to provide target production data associated with a target technical property of the product to be produced;

[0035] - a selection data determination unit configured to determine selection data associated with a selected waste material mix comprising one or more waste materials based on the waste material data and the target production data by generating technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix; and

[0036] - a processing unit configured to generate a control signal based on the selected waste material mix and to provide the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

[0037] The control device as recited herein thus shares the advantages of the method as recited herein.

[0038] In another aspect, the disclosure is related to a waste material provision arrangement for providing waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material. The waste material provision arrangement comprises

[0039] - a control device according to the second aspect,

[0040] - a waste material receiving unit connected to the waste material data providing unit and configured to receive one or more waste materials; and

[0041] - a waste material providing unit configured to provide the selected waste material mix for producing the product in accordance with the control signal generated by the processing unit of the control device.

[0042] The waste material provision arrangement as recited herein thus shares the advantages of the method as recited herein and / or of the control device as recited herein. 240957W001

[0043] 5

[0044] In another aspect, the disclosure is related to a production plant for producing a product associated with a target technical property thereof, wherein the production of the product at least partially based on waste materials. The production plant comprises:

[0045] - a waste material provision arrangement in accordance the disclosure, configured to provide the selected waste material mix based on the target technical property of the product; and

[0046] - a production unit configured to receive the selected waste material mix and to produce the product at least partially based on the waste material mix.

[0047] The production plant as recited herein shares the advantages of the waste material provision arrangement as recited herein, and / or of the method as recited herein and / or of the control device as recited herein.

[0048] A yet another aspect of the disclosure is related to a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a control device in accordance with the second aspect, cause the control device to carry out the method as recited herein.

[0049] Any disclosure, embodiments and examples described herein relate to the methods, the systems, apparatuses, and computer elements lined out above and below. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples equally apply to all other embodiments and examples.

[0050] The waste materials that are available for preparing the waste material mix can be, for instance, industrial waste materials from an owned production line. Additionally, or alternatively, the waste materials or a subset thereof can be provided by an external party.

[0051] The technical property of the waste material may be related to a physical and / or chemical and / or technological property of the waste material. The waste material data can be, for example, in the form of data associated with a bill of materials, wherein the waste material is identified and wherein data pertaining to the technical property of the waste material is included. Alternatively, the waste material data may be a data item included in a product passport associated with the waste material and indicative of the at least one technical property of said waste material. The product passport may be recognized as a digital twin of the waste material that documents material related information and / or sustainability or environmental impact information associated to the waste material along a value chain, e.g., from raw material until end of life to disposal, recycling or repurposing of the product. The product passport may comprise further data items indicative of an origin, composition, material parameters, etc.

[0052] The product passport can be a decentral product identifier that comprises any unique identifier uniquely associated with the waste material, and optionally a data owner. The decentral product identifier may connect a physical entity of the waste material or part thereof to a digital twin of the waste material. The digital twin may be digital representation 240957W001

[0053] 6 or digital version of the physical entity of the material or the part thereof and comprises waste material data associated with the technical property or properties of the waste material. The waste material data may be contained in one or more data sets (also denoted as digital twin data set(s)). Other data sets, commonly referred to as product data, may include data related to the use of the waste material, data related to the production of the waste material, one or more component identifiers, the component name, the chemical composition of the waste materials or components thereof, measured and / or determined chemical and / or physical properties of the waste material or components thereof, emission data of the waste material, recyclate content data of the waste material, bio-based content data of the waste material, renewable content data of the waste material, declaration data, safety data, certificate of analysis data associated with the waste material or components thereof, certificates associated with the waste materials or components thereof, or a combination thereof.

[0054] The decentral product identifier may include one or more Universally Unique Identifier(s) (UUID(s)) or one or more Digital Identifier(s) (DID(s)). The one or more DID(s) and / or UUID(s) may be associated with the digital twin of the waste material. The one or more DID(s) and / or UUID(s) may further be associated with the waste material. The decentral product identifier may be generated by the owner of the product data or on behalf of the owner of the product data. The decentral product identifier may include authentication information. Via the decentral product identifier and its unique association with the digital twin of the waste material (and hence with the physical entity of the waste material) and optionally the data owner, access to the digital twin and hence the product data may be controlled by the data owner. This contrasts with central authority schemes, where identifiers are provided by such central authority and access to data is controlled by such central authority. Decentral in this context refers to the usage of the decentral product identifier(s) in implementations as controlled by the data owner. The decentral product identifier may be connected to access data for accessing product data or parts thereof via a decentral network.

[0055] In the following, embodiments of the method as recited herein will be disclosed.

[0056] In an embodiment, the method may further comprise providing category data based on the waste material data, the category data associated with a composition of the waste material and determining the selection data further based on the category data. The category data is related to the composition of the waste material. In some cases, the products to be produced cannot include certain components, such as, certain chemical elements and / or constituents (e.g., additives) which are not allowed under given regulations for specific uses of the product. Thus, in this particular embodiment, the determination of the selection data is further done based on the category data.

[0057] This further improves the usage of the waste materials for the production of products at least partially using waste materials, by efficiently avoiding the combination of different waste materials that would result in a waste material mix that includes non-compatible waste materials, in terms of the respective compositions, for the given product. 240957W001

[0058] 7

[0059] In another embodiment, the method may further comprise assigning, based on the waste material data, one or more of the waste materials to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step. Here, based on the waste material data, predetermined waste materials are assigned to one or more pre-processing steps, such as, for instance, washing, milling, sieving, etc. The control signals are configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of that particular waste material, such that, what the waste material available for generating the waste material mix, is a pre-processed waste material. Thus, the assignment is done based on the waste material data irrespectively on whether the waste material has been selected as part of a waste material mix or not.

[0060] Alternatively, pre-processed waste material and non pre-processed waste materials can be associated with respective waste material data indicative of different technical properties.

[0061] Additionally, or alternatively, in another embodiment, the method may comprise assigning, based on the technical property data, one or more of the waste materials of the waste material mix to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step. In this embodiment, the pre-processing is assigned based on the technical property data associated with the expected technical property pertaining to the waste material mix. Thus, the assignment is performed after provision of the target production data and is performed on a waste material selected as part of the waste material mix.

[0062] In another embodiment, the method may additionally or alternatively comprise generating material request data based on the waste material data and the technical property data, the material request data associated with at least one additional material required for the production of the product (e.g., in accordance with the required a target technical property), and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor a request for the additional material. The required target technical property can be associated with input materials that are not waste materials or waste materials that are not currently available. The material request data is generated and is associated with a request, e.g., to an external party, for the at least one additional material required for the production of the product. The material request data can be indicative of an identification of the additional material type, an amount of the additional material type, a technical property of the additional material type, etc. The at least one additional material can be for instance a virgin material and / or a material with a predetermined bio-based content. The additional material type can be necessary or preferred in order to comply with certain requirements of the product to be produced, for instance in terms of an environmental impact attribute (e.g., PCF).

[0063] In an embodiment, the waste material data may additionally comprise location data associated with a physical storage location of the corresponding waste material. The controlling and / or monitoring the input of waste material is performed using the location data. The physical storage location is, for instance, indicative of a storage location inside 240957W001

[0064] 8 an owned warehouse or indicative of a third party or external location from which the waste material can be obtained. The control signal can therefore be to control or monitor the access of the physical location to obtain the required amount of the material waste in accordance with the selection data.

[0065] In another embodiment, the target technical property indicated by the target production data may be associated with a statistical distribution of a property value of the target technical property. The statistical distribution is related to a statistical indicator pertaining to the property values. In an embodiment, the statistical indicator is an average of the property value of the target technical property. In another embodiment, the statistical indicator is additionally or alternatively related to a mean value, a median value or a mode value of the statistical distribution. In another embodiment, the statistical indicator is additionally or alternatively related to a width, a spread, or a shape of the statistical distribution. In an embodiment, target production data is further associated with an allowable value range of the target technical property.

[0066] In the following, embodiments of the control device as recited herein will be disclosed.

[0067] In an embodiment of the control device, the processing unit may be configured to assign, based on the waste material data, one or more of the waste materials to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step.

[0068] In another embodiment of the control device, the processing unit may be additionally or alternatively configured to assign, based on the technical property data, one or more of the waste materials of the waste material mix to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step.

[0069] In the following, embodiments of the waste material provision arrangement as recited herein will be disclosed.

[0070] In an embodiment, the waste material provision arrangement further may comprise a plurality of physical storage locations. In this embodiment, the waste material data providing unit of the control device may be configured to provide waste material data further comprising location data associated with a respective physical storage location of the corresponding waste material.

[0071] In another embodiment, the waste material provision arrangement may additionally or alternatively comprise one or more pre-processing units configured to pre-process one or more of the waste materials before providing said waste materials to the production plant. The pre-processing of one or more of the waste materials can be controlled and / or monitored based on assignments of one or more waste materials to the one or more pre-processing units in dependence on the waste material data and / or on the technical property data. 240957W001

[0072] 9

[0073] In the following, embodiments of the production plant as recited herein will be disclosed.

[0074] In an embodiment, in the production plant for producing the product, the production unit may be further configured to receive at least one additional material type in addition to the selected waste materials. The additional material type can be provided in response to the generation of material request data by the control device.

[0075] It shall be understood that the computer implemented method described above, the chemical recycling plant described above, and the computer program product described above have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims.

[0076] It shall be understood that a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure can also be any combination of the dependent claim or above embodiments with a respective independent claim.

[0077] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereafter.

[0078] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0079] In the following, the present disclosure is further described with reference to the enclosed figures. The same reference numbers in the drawings and this disclosure are intended to refer to the same or like elements, components, and / or parts.

[0080] In the following drawings:

[0081] Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a waste material provision arrangement for providing waste material to a production plant;

[0082] Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the provision of waste material data;

[0083] Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a production plant receiving input waste material from a waste material provision arrangement in accordance with the disclosure;

[0084] Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating the operation of an exemplary embodiment of a control device for controlling input of waste material to a production plant in accordance with the disclosure;

[0085] Fig. 5a-c show schematic illustrations of user interfaces showing waste material data relating to a technical property (a); target product data associated with target technical property of the product to be produced (b); and technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced using a selected waste material mix (c);

[0086] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a production plant receiving input waste material from a waste material provision arrangement in accordance with the disclosure; 240957W001

[0087] 10

[0088] Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a production plant receiving input waste material from a waste material provision arrangement in accordance with the disclosure;

[0089] Fig. 8 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant in accordance with the disclosure; and

[0090] Fig. 9 shows a flow diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant in accordance with the disclosure.

[0091] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0092] The following embodiments are mere examples for implementing the method, the control device, the waste provision arrangement or the production plant disclosed herein and shall not be considered limiting.

[0093] Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a waste material provision arrangement 300 for providing waste material 204 to a production plant for producing a product. The production of the product is at least partially based on the provided waste material 204 and may further include additional materials, which may be other waste materials, virgin materials, and / or materials with a bio-based content. The waste material provision arrangement 300 receives waste materials 202. The waste materials received 202 are associated with waste material data, as it will be discussed with reference to Fig. 2 below. The waste provision arrangement 300 is controlled using an operation control system that includes a control device, which will be discussed in more detail below, in particular with reference to Fig. 4. The operation control system is signally connected to the waste material provision arrangement 200, for instance via a wired and / or wireless communication network for transmitting data and instructions pertaining to the operation of the waste material provision arrangement 300.

[0094] Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the generation and provision of waste material data associated with a waste material. The waste material may be, for example, waste material produced by a known or owned production line. The waste material data can be provided in the form of a bill of materials or product structure, indicating physical and / or chemical and / or technological features, properties or attributes of the respective waste material. The waste material can additionally or alternatively be provided by an external party. In either case, the manufacturer generates the waste material data associated with each waste material or waste material type.

[0095] The provision of detailed waste material data is beneficial in the field of circular economy, where waste materials are used for the production of new products, thus reducing the environmental impact associated with the product. This is especially the case for closed-loop recycling. Closed-loop recycling systems attempt to maximize the amount of time a given amount of a resource is available to an economy. In ideal systems, materials are recycled indefinitely with practically no net change in quality or properties. This allows the same bits of a resource to be extracted, manufactured, used, and recycled back into the same product. Waste is considered a resource in itself, closing the loop of resource production. Recycled resources require less labor and energy to convert into new products, which reduces 240957W001

[0096] 11 environmental pollution and production costs. Therefore, closed-loop recycling is considered part of environmental sustainability programs.

[0097] Referring to Fig. 2, an operator in the logistics process, e.g., the provision or transport of the waste material to the waste material management plant (e.g., a waste material provision arrangement for providing waste material to a production plant) is tasked with providing the waste materials to the waste material management plant. In this process, a waste identifier is generated for the material waste to be provided to the plant. The waste identifier can be for instance in the form of a QR code, a bar code, or any other suitable passive or active marker (e.g. RFID) that correlates the waste material with the waste material data corresponding to said waste material.

[0098] Upon reception of the waste material in the waste material management plant, the waste identifier is scanned or otherwise actuated upon, either manually by an operator, for example via a hand held scanner, or automatically, for example using an infrared scanner or an RFID reader. The waste material is categorized and stored based on the waste material data. When waste material is needed for the production of a product, a waste material mix is selected and the waste material mix is provided for production.

[0099] Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a production plant 400 that is receiving input waste material, in particular a waste material mix 206, from a waste material provision arrangement 300. The production plant includes a production unit 404 that is configured to receive the selected waste material mix 206 and to produce the product 404 based, or at least partially based (see, e.g., Fig. 7 and the related discussion below), on the waste material mix 206. The waste material provision arrangement 300 comprises a material receiving unit 302 configured to receive one or more waste materials 202, e.g., from the manufacturer as exemplarily shown in Fig. 2. The waste material provision arrangement 300 also comprises a waste material providing unit 304 that is configured to provide the a selected waste material mix 206 for producing the product in accordance with a control signal CS generated by a control device 200.

[0100] The control device 200 will be described with more detail with reference to Fig. 4, which shows a schematic block diagram illustrating the operation of an exemplary embodiment of the control device 200 for controlling input of waste material, e.g., the waste material mix 206, to the production plant 400, in particular to the production unit 404, in accordance with the disclosure.

[0101] In the exemplary case shown in Fig. 4, the waste material 202 received, e.g., at the waste material receiving unit 302, include a first waste material W1 , a second waste material W2 and a third waste material W3. Each waste material has a respective technical property, TP1 , TP2, TP3 that is related to a physical (density, hardness, material coefficients, etc.) and / or chemical (composition, additives, etc.) and / or technological (PCF, required pre-processing / post- processing steps, allowable processing ranges for temperature, pressure, etc.) property, feature or attribute of the corresponding waste material. As explained with reference to Fig. 2, the waste materials W1 , W2, W3 are associated 240957W001

[0102] 12 with a waste identifier ID1 , ID2, ID3, such as a passive marker (e.g., QR code, bar code, number, etc.) or an active marker (e.g., RFID tag). Interacting with the waste identifiers ID1 , ID2, ID2, for example by scanning and / or sensing the identifiers, enables access to the waste material data MD1 , MD2, MD3, associated with the respective waste material. The waste material data is indicative of the technical property TP1, TP2, TP3 of the respective waste material.

[0103] The control unit 200 comprise a waste material data providing unit 208 that can be signally connected to the waste material receiving unit and configured to provide waste material data MD associated with one or more waste materials W1 , W2, W3. As stated above, the waste material data MD relates to at least one technical property TP1 , TP2, TP3 of the waste materials W1 , W2, W3 received.

[0104] The waste material data can be used for the internal management of the waste materials, for example for storing the waste materials in dependence on the technical property. The waste material data may also be indicative of category data CD associated with a composition of the waste material W1 , W2, W3. The category data can be used to differentiate the waste materials based on the composition, for example to avoid providing a waste material mix including waste materials that are incompatible with each other or that cannot be used together for the production of a certain product.

[0105] The control unit 200 also comprises a target production data providing unit 210 that is configured to provide target production data TD associated with a target technical property TTP of the product to be produced 402. The target production data TD can for instance be provided by the production plant and is indicative of the technical property that the produced product has to have. In order to comply with this requirement, the materials used for the production, including the waste material 204 (see Fig. 1) or the waste material mix 206 (see also Fig. 3), have to result in a product having said technical property. Thus, the waste material data MD and the target production data TD are provided to a selection data determination unit 212. The selection data determination unit is configured to determine selection data SD associated with or otherwise indicative of a selected waste material mix 206. The selected waste material mix 206 may comprise one or more waste materials W1, W2, W3. The selection data is determined based on the waste material data MD and the target production data TD, in particular by generating technical property data TPD associated with an expected technical property ETP that the product would have if it were to be produced at least partially from the selected waste material mix 206. When the expected technical property ETP agrees or matches within a predetermined range the target technical property TTP, the selected data indicative of that particular waste material mix 206 is provided.

[0106] The selection data SD is received by a processing unit 214 configured to generate a control signal CS based on the selection data SD and to provide the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix 206 indicated by the selection data and complying with the target technical property, for producing the product. 240957W001

[0107] 13

[0108] Thus, different mixes of one or more different waste materials, in various respective proportions are associated with a respective expected technical property, which is given in the form of technical property data. The technical property data TPD is compared with the target production data to determine if there is a sufficiently significant match between the target technical property required for the product and the expected technical property that the product would have if the respective waste material mix was used for the production. If the match is sufficiently significant, the control signals CS are generated and provided for controlling and / or monitoring the provision of the selected waste material mix 206 to the production unit 404. The control signals CS may be used to retrieve each individual material waste W1, W2, W3 that forms the mix 206, for example from a predetermined location in a warehouse. Additionally, or alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, one or more of the waste materials (e.g. W3) needed for the selected waste material mix 206 is not currently located within the waste material provision arrangement 300. In this case, the control unit 200 can be configured to generate and provide material request data RD based on the waste material data and the technical property data, the material request data associated with at least one additional waste material required for selected waste material mix 206. The material request data can be part of the control signal CS.

[0109] Fig. 5a-c show a schematic illustrations of user interfaces showing waste material data relating to a technical property (a); target product data associated with target technical property of the product to be produced (b); and technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced using a selected waste material mix (c).

[0110] Fig. 5a shows a chart that represents the amount of material waste available for different values of the technical property, for instance, as a non-limiting example, a hardness value of the waste material. In this particular example, the values are divided into eight different non-overlapping ranges, each associated with a respective value TP1-TP8 of the technical property. The chart shown may correspond to material waste that has certain composition, as indicated, for example, by category data CD obtained from the waste material data MD, as explained with reference to Fig. 4. For other compositions, similar charts can be displayed that show the amount of waste material of those compositions as a function of the value of the technical property. Upon receiving new waste material, the waste material data MD obtained, for example, by scanning a QR-code attached to the waste material received, is used to categorize the waste material in dependence on the value of the technical property. The chart shown in Fig. 5a is thereby updated by increasing the corresponding block or blocks by the amount of received waste material.

[0111] For the production of a product 402 at the production plant, the controller receives a request including target production data TP. The target production data TD is indicative of a target technical property TTP of the product. In this particular example, target technical property is associated with a statistical distribution of a property value of the target technical property, for instance a required distribution of a hardness value of the waste material needed for the product. The statistical distribution can be characterized by an average value (e.g., mean, median, mode), a spread of a curve of the values, a shape of the curve of the values or any other statistical indicator. For instance, in the example shown in Fig. 5, the statistical indicator is related to a shape of the curve. 240957W001

[0112] 14

[0113] When the target production data TD is received, and based on the technical property distribution of the waste materials available (see Fig. 5a), a waste material mix is selected such that the expected technical property ETP of a product produced using said mix, corresponds to the target technical property TTP. The correspondence can be a complete matching, or, alternatively, a matching within a predetermined allowable variation range. For instance, based on the target production data TD (Fig. 5b) and the overall waste material data (Fig. 5a), a waste material mix is selected that comprises an amount A of a waste material with a technical property value of TP2, an amount B of a waste material with a technical property value of TP3 and an amount C of a waste material with a technical property value of TP4. The expected technical property ETP matches the target technical property, in accordance with predetermined matching conditions.

[0114] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a production plant 400 receiving input waste materials (W2*, W3) from a waste material provision arrangement in accordance with the disclosure. The following discussion will focus on the features that distinguish the production plant of Fig. 6 from the production plants described with reference to Figs. 1 and 3. Those features having similar or identical functions will be referred to using the same reference numbers and signs. The waste material provision arrangement 300 has a plurality of physical storage locations L1, L2, L3, where respective waste materials W1, W2, W3, having respective technical properties TP1, TP2, TP3 are stored. When the waste materials are received, and based on the waste material data, the storage location for storing the waste material is determined. The waste material data providing unit 208 of the control device 200 (see Fig. 4) is configured to provide the waste material data further comprising location data associated with the respective physical storage location of the corresponding waste material. The location data can be a data item added to the waste material data, and which indicates at which location the waste material can be found. When a waste material mix is selected for producing a product, the control signals are generated further based on the location data, for providing the waste material mix.

[0115] Further, the waste material provision 300 may additionally comprises one or more pre-processing units 306. The preprocessing units 306 are configured to pre-process one or more of the waste materials W1, W2, W3 before providing said waste materials, as part of the mix, to the production unit 404. For instance, the control unit 200 can be configured to assign, based on the waste material data MD, one or more of the waste materials W2 to one or more preprocessing steps by providing the control signal CS as being further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing waste material W2 assigned to the pre-processing step.

[0116] The assignment to the pre-processing step carried out in the pre-processing unit (e.g., washing, milling, drying, heating, etc.) can be done upon arrival of the waste material or, additionally or alternatively, upon being selected as part of a waste material mix. For example, the control unit 200 may assign one or more of the waste materials (e.g. W2 in Fig. 6) of the waste material mix to the pre-processing step, based on the technical property data associated with the waste material mix, which in this case includes waste material W3 and pre-processed waste material W2*. Here, the 240957W001

[0117] 15 control signal CS is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste material assigned to the pre-processing step.

[0118] Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a production plant 400 receiving input waste material from a waste material provision arrangement 300 in accordance with the disclosure. The following discussion will focus on the features that distinguish the production plant of Fig. 7 from the production plants described with reference to Figs. 1, 3 and 6. Those features having similar or identical functions will be referred to using the same reference numbers and signs.

[0119] The material needed for the production of the product 402 at the production unit 404 may require additional material AM besides the waste material mix 206 provided by the waste material provision arrangement 300. Depending on the expected technical property achievable using a selected waste material mix and the target technical property, or depending on other considerations, such as a required environmental impact attribute associated to the product, additional material having specific properties may be necessary for the production. The control unit 200 may be configured to generate material request data RD based on the waste material data and the technical property data, or on other considerations (e.g. PCF). The material request data is associated with at least one additional material required for the production of the product, e.g., in accordance with the required a target technical property. The additional material can be a material with a specific technical property, or can be selected based on its composition, or origin. For instance, the additional material can be a virgin material or a material with a bio-based content. The control signal CS can be further configured to control and / or monitor a request for the additional material AM. The additional material AM can be requested from an external party.

[0120] Fig. 8 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 100 for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant 400 for producing a product 402 at least partially based on the waste material 204 in accordance with the disclosure. The discussion of the method 100 points to the technical features described above with reference to the Figs. 1 to 7. The method comprises, in a step 102, providing waste material data MD (e.g., bill of material, or an alternative source of waste material data) associated with one or more waste materials 202, W1, W2, W3, wherein the waste material data MD1, MD, M3 relates to at least one technical property TP1, TP2, TP3 of the one or more waste materials W1, W2, W3, 202. The method also comprises, in a step 104, providing target production data TD associated with a target technical property TTP of the product to be produced 402. The method further comprises, in a step 106, determining selection data SD associated with a selected waste material mix 206 comprising one or more waste materials W1, W2, W3, based on the waste material data MD and the target production data TD, by generating technical property data TPD associated with an expected technical property ETP of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix. The method 100 then includes, in a step 108, generating a control signal CS based on the determined selection data SD and, in a step, 110, providing the control signal CS for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix 206 for producing the product 402. 240957W001

[0121] 16

[0122] Fig. 9 shows a flow diagram of another exemplary embodiment 100 of a method for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material to a production plant in accordance with the disclosure.

[0123] In a step S1 , waste material data related to one or more technical properties of the waste material is provided. This step can be performed whenever new waste material arrives, for instance by interacting with a waste identifier that allows access to the waste material data, for instance via a product passport. When waste material is required for producing a product, in a step S2, target production data related to a target technical property of the product to be produced is provided. In a step S3, and based on the waste material data and the target production data, selection data is determined. The selection data is indicative of a waste material mix candidate. For the waste material mix candidate an expected technical property is determined in step S4, and then, in a step S5 it is determined whether the expected technical property associated to the waste material candidate matches the target technical property associated with the product to be produced. Whether a match exists or not is determined based on a predetermined matching condition, which may include certain valid ranges. If no match is established is step S5, a new waste material mix candidate is determined in step S3. If however a match is established in step S4, the one or more materials and their respective quantities needed for the production of the product in accordance with the target technical property are identified. In a step S6 it is determined whether additional material is needed. The additional material may be additional waste material that is currently not available or additional non-waste material required for the production, such as virgin material and / or material with a bio-based content. Whenever additional material is required, a material request data is provided in step S7. Also, after having established a match in step S5, it is determined in step S8 whether any of the waste materials in the selected waste material mix requires a pre-processing step, and, in case a pre-processing is required, the completion of the pre-processing is controlled and / or monitored in step S9, before controlling and / or monitoring the input or provision of the selected waste material mix for the production of the product in step S10.

[0124] For instance, the method steps related to the determination of selection data (e.g., step 106 in Fig. 8, or steps S3, S4, S5 in Fig. 9) can be performed using a machine learning system. The machine learning system 114 can be an artificial neural network ANN comprising a plurality of connected artificial neurons, each connected to other artificial neurons. Each artificial neuron receives signals from connected neurons, then processes them and sends a signal to other connected neurons. The output of each neuron is computed by an activation functions as some non-linear function of the sum of its inputs. The strength of the signal at each connection is determined by a weight, which adjusts during the learning process. The neurons can be aggregated into layers. Different layers may perform different transformations on their inputs. Signals travel from the first layer (the input layer) to the last layer (the output layer), possibly passing through multiple intermediate layers (hidden layers). The artificial neural network is preferably a deep neural layer comprising a plurality of hidden layers. 240957W001

[0125] 17

[0126] The machine learning system is trained using training data that comprises training waste material data, training target production data and training selection data, indicative of associations between waste materials, technical properties of the waste materials, target technical properties of a product and expected technical properties associated with a selected waste material mix.

[0127] Thus, the machine learning system, e.g., the deep neural network, is trained through empirical risk minimization. This method is based on the idea of optimizing the network's parameters to minimize the difference, or empirical risk, between the predicted output and the actual target values in a given dataset of training data. Gradient-based methods such as backpropagation are usually used to estimate the parameters of the network. During the training phase, the machine learning system learns from labelled training data by iteratively updating their parameters to minimize a defined loss function. This method allows the machine learning system to generalize to unseen data e.g., target production data, which is then provided as input for the trained machine learning system.

[0128] The trained machine learning system is then used for determining the selection data SD used for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the waste material mix for production of the product.

[0129] In summary, the disclosure relates to a method for controlling input of waste material to a production plant for producing a product and comprises providing waste material data associated with waste materials and relating to a technical property of the waste materials, providing target production data associated with a target technical property of the product, determining selection data associated with a selected waste material mix based on the waste material data and the target production data by generating technical property data associated with an expected technical property of the product, generating a control signal based on the determined selection data and providing the control signal for controlling the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

[0130] The present disclosure has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples as well. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed disclosure, from the studies of the drawings, this disclosure and the claims.

[0131] Any steps presented herein can be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to a specific order of these steps. It is also not required that the different steps are performed at a certain place or in a certain computing node of a distributed system, i.e. each of the steps may be performed at different computing nodes using different equipment / data processing.

[0132] As used herein ..determining" also includes ..initiating or causing to determine", "generating" also includes ..initiating and / or causing to generate" and "providing” also includes "initiating or causing to determine, generate, select, send and / or receive”. "Initiating or causing to perform an action” includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action. 240957W001

[0133] 18

[0134] In the claims as well as in the description the word "comprising” or "including” or similar wording does not exclude other elements or steps and shall not be construed limiting to the elements or steps lined out. The indefinite article "a” or "an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation or further elements may be included.

[0135] Providing in the scope of this disclosure may include any interface configured to provide data. This may include an application programming interface, a human-machine interface such as a display and / or a software module interface. Providing may include communication of data or submission of data to the interface, in particular display to a user or use of the data by the receiving node, entity or interface.

[0136] Various units, circuits, entities, nodes or other computing components may be described as "configured to” perform a task or tasks. Configured to shall recite structure meaning "having circuitry that” performs the task or tasks on operation. The units, circuits, entities, nodes or other computing components can be configured to perform the task even when the unit / circuit / component is not operating. The units, circuits, entities, nodes or other computing components that form the structure corresponding to "configured to” may include hardware circuits and / or memory storing program instructions executable to implement the operation. The units, circuits, entities, nodes or other computing components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions shall be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to.” Any recitation of "configured to” is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation.

[0137] In general, the methods, apparatuses, systems, computer elements, nodes or other computing components described herein may include memory, software components and hardware components. The memory can include volatile memory such as static or dynamic random-access memory and / or nonvolatile memory such as optical or magnetic disk storage, flash memory, programmable read-only memories, etc. The hardware components may include any combination of combinatorial logic circuitry, clocked storage devices such as flops, registers, latches, etc., finite state machines, memory such as static random-access memory or embedded dynamic random-access memory, custom designed circuitry, programmable logic arrays, etc.

[0138] Moreover, any of the methods, method steps, processes and actions described or illustrated herein may be implemented using executable instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor and stored thereon. A processor may be a processor of any suitable type, and is preferably a processor configured for parallel processing of at least a hundred or a at least a thousand threads in parallel, e.g. a graphical processing unit (GPU). For instance, the processor comprises at least a hundred or at least a thousand parallel processing cores. In particular, the processor may comprise at least one (preferably at least a thousand) compute unified device architecture (CUDA) core(s), 240957W001

[0139] 19 which may allow for using a graphical processing unit as the processor, which may increase computational efficiency. For instance, the processor may comprise at least one (e.g. at least a hundred) streaming multiprocessor cores, which may allow for increasing the data throughput. As a further example, the processor may comprise one or more (e.g. at least a hundred) tensor core(s). A tensor core may be specifically adapted to perform matrix operations and may allow to accelerate large matrix operations. A tensor core may be configured to perform mixed-precision matrix multiply and accumulate calculations in a single operation. For instance, a tensor core may perform mixed-precision floating-point matrix arithmetic, specifically utilizing FP16 (half-precision) inputs to produce either full-precision (FP32) or half-precision (FP16) outputs. In the case of FP16 output, a tensor core may provide a performance boost by storing the intermediate accumulation results in FP32 format, thereby maintaining the precision necessary for accurate results. For example, a processor may comprise several thousand tensor cores, each capable of performing 64 floating point FMA (Fused M ulti ply-Add) operations per clock cycle. With these capabilities, such a GPU may allow for hundreds of TFLOPs (Tera Floating-Point Operations per Second) of performance in mixed-precision computations. Furthermore, a tensor core may support a variety of numerical formats, including IEEE standard half-precision, single-precision, and double-precision floating-point formats, as well as a range of integer formats.

Claims

240957W00120CLAIMS1. Computer implemented method (100) for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material (204) to a production plant (400) for producing a product (402) at least partially based on the waste material (204), the method comprising: providing (102) waste material data (MD) associated with one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3, 202), wherein the waste material data relates to at least one technical property (TP1, TP2, TP3) of the one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3, 202); providing (104) target production data (TD) associated with a target technical property (TTP) of the product to be produced (402); determining (106) - based on the provided waste material data (MD) and the provided target production data (TD) - selection data (SD) associated with a selected waste material mix (206) comprising one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3), wherein determining (106) selection data (SD) includes generating technical property data (TPD) associated with an expected technical property (ETP) of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix, each waste material of the one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3) being associated with the respective technical property; generating (108) a control signal (CS) based on the determined selection data (SD); and providing (110) the control signal (CS) for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix (206) for producing the product (402).

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, providing category data (CD) based on the waste material data (MD), the category data associated with a composition of the waste material (W1 , W2, W3); and determining the selection data further based on the category data.

3. The method (100) of claim 1 or 2, further comprising: assigning (S8), based on the waste material data, one or more of the waste materials (W1 , W2, W3) to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor (S9) the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step.

4. The method (100) of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: assigning (S8), based on the technical property data, one or more of the waste materials of the waste material mix to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor (S9) the pre-processing of the one or more waste material assigned to the pre-processing step.240957W001215. The method (100) of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: generating material request data (RD) based on the waste material data (MD) and the technical property data (TD), the material request data associated with at least one additional material (AM) required for the production of the product (402), and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor a request for the additional material.

6. The method (100) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the waste material data (MD) further comprises location data (LD) associated with a physical storage location (L1 , L2, L3) of the corresponding waste material (W1 , W2, W3).

7. The method (100) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the target technical property (TTP) is associated with a statistical distribution (D) of a property value of the target technical property (TTP).

8. Control device (200) for controlling and / or monitoring input of waste material (206) to a production plant (400) for producing a product (402) at least partially based on the waste material (206), the control device comprising: a waste material data providing unit (208) configured to provide waste material data (MD) associated with one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3), wherein the waste material data (MD) relates to at least one technical property (TP1, TP2, TP3) of the one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3); a target production data providing unit (210) configured to provide target production data (TD) associated with a target technical property (TTP) of the product to be produced (402); a selection data determination unit (212) configured to determine - based on the provided waste material data (MD) and the provided target production data (TD) - selection data (SD) associated with a selected waste material mix (206) comprising one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3), wherein to determine the selection data (SD) to includes generating technical property data (TPD) associated with an expected technical property of the product to be produced at least partially from the waste material mix, each waste material of the one or more waste materials (W1 , W2, W3) being associated with the respective technical property; a processing unit (214) configured to generate a control signal based on the selection data and to provide the control signal for controlling and / or monitoring the input of the selected waste material mix for producing the product.

9. The control device (200) of claim 8, wherein the processing unit is configured to assign, based on the waste material data, one or more of the waste materials to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the preprocessing step240957W00122 and / or wherein the processing unit is configured to assign, based on the technical property data, one or more of the waste materials of the waste material mix to one or more respective pre-processing steps; and wherein the control signal is further configured to control and / or monitor the pre-processing of the one or more waste materials assigned to the pre-processing step.

10. Waste material provision arrangement (300) for providing waste material to a production plant for producing a product at least partially based on the waste material; the waste material provision arrangement comprising: a control device (200) according to any of the preceding claims 8 or 9, a waste material receiving unit (302) connected to the waste material data providing unit and configured to receive one or more waste material; and a waste material providing unit (304) configured to provide the selected waste material mix for producing the product in accordance with the control signal generated by the processing unit of the control device.11 . The waste material provision arrangement according to the preceding claim further comprising a plurality of physical storage locations (L1, L2, L3) and wherein the waste material data providing unit of the control device is configured to provide waste material data further comprising location data associated with a respective physical storage location of the corresponding waste material.

12. The waste material provision arrangement according to any of claims 10 or 11 further comprising one or more pre-processing units (306) configured to pre-process one or more of the waste materials before providing said waste materials to the production plant.

13. Production plant (400) for producing a product associated with a target technical property thereof, the production of the product at least partially based on waste materials, the production plant comprising: a waste material provision arrangement in accordance with any of the claims 10 to 12 configured to provide the selected waste material mix based on the target technical property of the product; and a production unit (404) configured to receive the selected waste material mix and to produce the product at least partially based on the waste material mix.

14. The production plant of claim 13, wherein, for producing the product, the production unit is further configured to receive at least one additional material type in addition to the selected waste materials.

15. Computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a control device in accordance with claims 8 or 9, cause the control device to carry out the method of any of the claims 1 to 7.

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