Japanese technology giant Canon (www.global.canon) has announced it has developed a process for sorting plastic pieces based on material, as a step of recycling plastic using ‘tracking type’ Raman spectroscopy technology.

The new technology enables materials to be identified with a high degree of accuracy, even when sorting plastic items of black shades, and also black plastic pieces which may be mixed up with those of other colours. Canon said it planned to roll-out equipment using this method in the first half of 2024.

Near-infrared spectroscopy is the method normally used in plastics sorting by material, but it cannot detect black material. Canon’s Raman spectroscopy technology can, but the measurement time is too long relative to the speed and throughput required for practical use. 

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But now the Japanese firm has developed a process using tracking type Raman spectroscopy technology, which it said “ensures there is enough measurement time required for each piece of plastic according to its colour, and allows the plastic pieces that contain black portions to be sorted in a single process at high speed and with high accuracy”.