Development of a Transparent Thermal Reflective Thin Film Coating for Accurate Separation of Food-Grade Plastics in Recycling Process via AI-Based Thermal Image Processing

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a specific thin film coating designed to address the challenge of accurately separating food-grade plastics in the recycling process. The coating, created using a plasma sputtering process, is transparent to the visible spectrum of light while effectively reflecting infrared emissions above 1500 nm. Composed of a safe metal oxide formulation with a proprietary composition, the coating is applied to packaging labels. By employing thermal imaging and a computer vision AI model, the coated labels enable precise differentiation of plastics associated with food packaging in the initial stage of plastic recycling. The proposed system achieved a remarkable 100% accuracy in separating food-grade plastics from other types of plastics. This innovative approach holds great potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of plastic recycling processes, ensuring the recovery of food-grade plastics for future use.