NPP leverages TOMRA deep learning technology to purify production of rPET
Regulatory change drives innovation at sorting facilities
Under the Circular Economy Law, France has set an ambitious target of recycling 100% of plastics by 2025. To achieve this, consumers nationwide received instructions to sort household packaging waste into separate paper/carton, metal, and plastic bins. To meet the demands of these regulatory changes and increase the volume of recycled plastic content available to the market, Nord Pal Plast (NPP) initiated a project with TOMRA Recycling Sorting in 2022.
![Amed Tuwi, Application Developer - Deep Learning at TOMRA Recycling Sorting, and Alexandre Cliche, Quality Manager at NPP](/cdn-cgi/image/w=950,q=75,format=webp/-/media/project/tomra/tomra/legal/amed-tuwi-application-developer--deep-learning-at-tomra-recycling-sorting-and-alexandre-cliche-quali.jpg)
Working in collaboration with the research and development engineers at TOMRA Recycling Sorting, a new deep learning-based application for purifying PET was tested on the sorting lines at NPP. TOMRA software engineers trained the AUTOSORT® with GAIN™ deep learning technology to detect opaque PET objects, foils, textiles and films that are considered contaminants when producing rPET. The machine’s powerful combination of deep learning software and cutting-edge sensors now makes it possible to create a mono fraction of transparent PET with outstanding purity levels.
“With our latest GAIN™ application, we have targeted the separation of white opaque PET from clear PET, which was previously difficult to solve with conventional technology”, explains Amed Tuwi, Application Developer - Deep Learning at TOMRA Recycling Sorting. As project leader for the new GAIN™ application, Tuwi commented: “NPP is a highly recognized and future-forward player in the industry –they were a great collaborative partner to test our new PET cleaning application on an industrial scale.”
Building a competitive edge with technology
In operation since 2003, NPP is a PET bottle recycling company with a processing capacity of 40,000 metric tons of PET bottles per year. Specializing in clear and colored PET bottle recycling, NPP has used TOMRA sorting technology for over 12 years. The company’s sorting plant in Lesquin features six AUTOSORT® machines, two of which have been equipped with GAIN deep learning technology.The plastic sorting facility uses one AUTOSORT® with GAIN™ technology to purify the PET bottle input stream from contaminants. The second machine with deep learning technology then recovers recyclable PET bottles from the first sorting step. This ensures that NPP recovers as much material as possible for recycling, maximizing yield.
"The new deep learning application for PET halves the final residual contamination, and we are now achieving 100 ppm (parts per million) contamination. What's more, this is achieved with a minimum number of machines – an investment that really pays off when it comes to operating costs”, comments Frédéric Durand, Managing Director of TOMRA France.
![Mixed PET fraction prior to sorting process.](/cdn-cgi/image/w=950,q=75,format=webp/-/media/project/tomra/tomra/legal/mixed-pet-fraction-prior-to-sorting-process.jpg)
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1.TOMRA Recycling Sorting designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting technologies for the global recycling and waste management industry to transform resource recovery and create value in waste.
2. Eco-emballages. (2017, February). PET opaque: le programme d’actions d’Eco-Emballages pour 2017. Retrieved from Eco-emballages: http://www.ecoemballages.fr/actualite/pet-opaque-le-programme-dactions-deco-emballages-pour-2017