Identification of plastic material composition

摘要

Identification of a material composition. The material composition is configured with a color additive that is embedded or otherwise not visible. The color additive identifies the specific material composition. A discrete section or sub-section of the material is deformed such that the embedded color additive is made visible in the optical spectrum, after which the discrete section or sub-section may be sorted for recycling.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
applying a force to an area of a body, the body comprising a first material and a second material, the first material having a first property and the second material in communication with the first material and having a second property, the second property different from the first property, and the second property of the second material being non-visible in an optical spectrum in a first state of the body; the force transforming the body to a second state, different from the first state, including making visible a characteristic of the second material reflecting at least one optical wavelength; and identifying a composition of the first material based on the visible characteristic of the second material in the second state.