Recyclable Packaging Label Substrate Thickness for NIR Sorting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current plastic packaging faces difficulties during recycling due to incorrect polymer sorting by near infrared (NIR) sorting systems when labels cover a significant portion of the container, as the label's polymer can confuse the detection process, leading to misclassification and reduced recyclability.
Innovation Solution
A sustainable, recyclable plastic packaging design with a label covering at least 70% of the container's area, featuring a substrate layer thickness of 40 μm to less than 60 μm, allowing accurate detection and sorting by NIR equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the label covers a large area of the container, then the product information visibility is improved, but the polymer detection accuracy by NIR sorting systems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the label substrate by controlling its thickness to be less than 60 μm. This parameter change allows the NIR sorting systems to detect the polymer of the container through the thin label substrate, thereby maintaining detection accuracy while preserving the benefit of high label coverage for product information display.
2Measurement precision
If the label coverage is reduced to improve polymer detection, then the measurement precision is improved, but the product information visibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the label coverage area, the patent changes the thickness parameter of the label substrate to less than 60 μm. This allows the label to maintain high coverage for product information while still permitting NIR detection of the container polymer through the thin substrate.
3Reliability
If a thick label substrate is used, then the label durability is improved, but the polymer detection by NIR systems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the label substrate thickness to be less than 60 μm, finding the optimal balance point where the substrate is thin enough to allow NIR detection of the container polymer while still providing sufficient durability for practical use. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between durability and detectability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables a capture rate of over 85% during recycling, ensuring that plastic packaging with high label coverage can be accurately identified and sorted, enhancing recyclability while maintaining product information visibility.
Implementation Method 1
When automatic near infrared (NIR) sorting systems which are used predominantly in material recovery facilities (MRFs), plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) and at reprocessors cannot detect and sort the polymers into the correct polymer stream
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a sustainable, recyclable article for packaging. A need remains to have plastic packaging with maximum label coverage on the container, while being able to recycle without causing difficulties during recycling. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide plastic packaging having more than or equal to 70% label coverage which can be recycled by detecting and sorting the plastic article by NIR (near infrared) sorting process. It has been found that the polymer of the plastic packaging with a higher label coverage can be detected and sorted by NIR (near infrared) sorting process by maintaining a thickness of less than 60 pm in the substrate layer of the label used.