SI26420A - System and method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin ofraw materials prepared from processed waste - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention of the system and method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste uses blockchain technology as a tool to ensure the credibility of the final PDF document, which proves the origin of the recycled material itself or raw materials. The final result of the process is the creation of the so-called digital passport (DPL), which is made for each batch of finished material produced from recycled waste. In order for the DPL to be issued, the entire process from the collected final material waste is properly recorded between the individual actors, which takes place by entering data into a web application that stores the data in a central database. When the DPL is ready, the hash of the PDF file of the DPL is entered into the blockchain database, and the hash of the previous block is entered into the same block, which means that it is not possible to change any block in the chain without collapsing the entire database. Because of this, it is practically impossible to change the DPL document, which means that the document has a high level of confidence for proving the authenticity of the origin of the material, or raw material or recyclate.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENSURING TRACEABILITY AND PROVING THE ORIGIN OF RAW MATERIALS PREPARED FROM PROCESSED WASTE

The field of technology

The invention belongs to the field of methods for ensuring the traceability of the origin of materials, more precisely the traceability of raw materials prepared from processed waste. The present invention relates to a system and method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste.

Background of the Invention and Technical Problem

Waste can be an efficient source of raw materials if properly collected, sorted and processed. The mentioned waste is suitable for the direct production of recyclate, as well as as a material source for obtaining other raw materials, chemicals, substances or mixtures in a solid, liquid or gaseous state. Obtained raw materials can compete with primary raw materials, especially plastics. The use of recyclates or raw materials produced from recyclates has a lower negative impact on the environment, which is increasingly important for both legislators and consumers who want their lifestyle to have as little environmental impact as possible. As a result, the demand for recycled and/or raw materials produced from waste or surpluses has grown on the market, which has led to the situation where some recycled products reach even higher prices than primary raw materials.

While the waste treatment technology itself has progressed by leaps and bounds in recent decades, the area of proving the authenticity of recycled materials is still a rather neglected area. The market for the sale of recyclates has therefore matured and as such needs an effective tool to control and prove the authenticity that the recyclate/raw material/product is actually prepared from processed waste. The technical problem addressed by the present invention is therefore the design of a system and method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste, which will enable efficient and reliable tracking of the origin of raw materials with the final issue of a document that will be difficult or impossible to change.

State of the art

Patent application US2022215401 describes a system for tracking and quality assurance of raw materials, which includes an analytical system adapted to perform chemical, chemical/physical, or physical analysis, a tag with a code, a reading system for reading the tag, which can be connected via a network connection based on the code to data collection and storage system. The latter includes a list of codes related to raw materials, and each code belongs to a raw material and at least one certificate of analysis of the raw material.

Patent application US2022005002 relates to a process for collecting and recycling packaging materials, in a closed loop system. The process includes the steps of collecting and sorting products containing recyclable material, leading to at least one set of data relating to the quantity and origin of the sorted materials, as well as the identity, type, brand and/or quality of the material. The material recycling process includes the following steps:

a) collecting a large number of products from materials that can be recycled,

b) sorting the collected products according to their identity, brand, type and/or quality, in order to obtain groups of products,

c) creation of at least one set of data relating to groups of materials, whereby the data includes information on the quantity, origin of the classified material and the identity, brand, type and/or quality of the classified material,

d) reporting said information to the network of nodes for registration in the block chain.

The present invention differs from the mentioned known solution, which uses block chain technologies, in that it does not have a closed loop system, so that the origin of the material and all reports from the source material can be traced and at the same time the identity of all reports that are linked to the source material can be verified. its processing and final form.

Description of the solution to the technical problem

The present invention solves the weaknesses of known solutions and represents an upgrade of existing systems and methods for ensuring traceability and proving the authenticity of recyclates and/or raw materials obtained from processed waste. The solution to the technical problem is defined in independent claims, with preferred embodiments of the solution defined in dependent claims.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, some terms that will be used to describe the invention will be defined below.

Waste material can be recyclate, material, raw material, mixture, chemical, substance and the like in any aggregate state that enters the processing or processing process as waste.

Processed material is a recyclate, material, raw material, mixture, chemical, substance and the like that has gone through at least one processing or processing step, which differs from waste material or material processed in the previous step in at least one physical and/or chemical property .

The final material is a recyclate, material, raw material, mixture, chemical, substance, etc., which has undergone at least one processing or processing step and is suitable for use in any application process.

A digital passport (DRL) is a document that is produced for an individual batch of processed m/ah finished material and contains information about all the origins of the batch, including source material, quantities, processing procedures and the final material report. The code can be any suitable code used in the field, preferably a QR code, but it can also be a bar code, numeric code, serial number, password and the like. The QR code can only be a link to the web address where the DRL is loaded.

A hash is a string of characters calculated by an algorithm that is always the same if the document has not changed. To the extent that the document has changed, so has the hash. This change applies not only to the content of the document, but also to all other attributes of the document.

The invention uses blockchain technology as a tool to ensure the authenticity of the final PDF document, which proves the origin of the recycled material itself. The final result of the processing process is the production of so-called digital passport (DPL). DPL is a document that is created for an individual batch of processed and/or final material produced from recycled waste, and as such is entered in the blockchain (BC) database. In the BC database itself, the hash of the DPL PDF file is entered, and in the same block the hash of the previous block is entered, which means that it is not possible to change any block in the set without crashing the entire database. This ensures that the document has been modified or not. Due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain base, such a DPL document is practically impossible to change, which means that the document has a high level of trust for proving the authenticity of the origin of the material, or raw material or recycled material. In order for the DPL to be issued, the entire process from the collected waste to the raw material is properly recorded between the individual actors, which takes place by entering data into an online application, which stores the data in a database, preferably in the SOL database.

The entire system is preferably made according to the principle of a central database (SOL) and a central online application in the recycling process itself. At the time when the data for the DPL is created or recorded, the DPL itself has not yet been created. The moment the recycling process is completed, the DPL is completed and a PDF document is created and a hash of this document is entered into the decentralized database (blockchain). After this is completed, the document itself or its content cannot be changed without changing its hash. Even system creators (programmers) cannot change this data.

The method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to the invention includes at least the following steps:

a) accepting waste and, if necessary, sorting it into waste groups, which are stored and labeled with the correct international waste classification number,

b) primary entry of received and sorted waste into the online application and the central database connected to it, whereby the receipt and information about the waste are entered, where the origin of the waste, the destination of the waste, the carrier and the date of receipt of the waste, and the number of the weighing sheet, if desired, are recorded or the weighing sheet itself and/or any other document is attached,

c) at least the first processing of waste, so that the processed material differs from the input material in at least one physical and/or chemical property,

d) recording of the first processing of waste, by entering the person or company that performed the process, input materials and output materials, their quantities, forms, possible comments, and the processing process,

e) final processing, whereby the final material that can be used is obtained, the aircraft is equipped with a LOT number or batch number, whereby the first processing may already be the final processing,

f) recording of the final processing, by entering the identity of the material, the LOT number, the quantity, and, if necessary, other analyses, such as purity analyses, etc.,

g) data verification, adjustment and/or addition of missing documents and/or data, whereby the online application checks all the data entered up to that point, for example addition and subtraction of quantities, checks the lengths of material labels, checks whether attachments are provided, following an automated logical verification process , etc,

h) preferential manual verification of the data automatically verified in the previous step, whereby the manual verification is performed by the person who initiated the process for creating the DPL,

i) creation of a DPL containing a suitable code, preferably a QR code, for viewing all the essential steps of the material/recycled/raw material production process and basic data, especially the LOT number of the basic material, and

j) the creation of a PDF document and the hash of this document with the created DPL and the entry of the hash of the document into the decentralized BC database.

Between the first and final processing, there may be a second and each further processing, whereby the obtained first processed material is processed in such a way as to obtain a second processed material that differs from the first processed material in at least one physical and/or chemical property. The recording of the optional second and any subsequent processing is carried out in the same way as for the first and/or final processing, namely by entering the person or company that performed the process, input materials and output materials, their quantities, forms, any comments, and the processing process.

During the duration of waste collection and processing and recycling, all data is in a centralized database, as this database can be changed and is suitable for storing large volumes of data. When the process is completed, a PDF document is created, which is equipped with all necessary/accessible quality documents, certificates, datasheets, etc. The PDF document (DPL) is also placed on a centralized server, and at the same time the hash of the DPL is written to the decentralized blockchain database, for the purposes of later verification of the identity of the document. All data except hashes are stored in a centralized database (SQL).

An example of a method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to the invention for obtaining terephthalic acid from plastic waste includes at least the following steps:

a) accepting waste and, if necessary, sorting it into waste groups, which are stored and labeled with the correct international waste classification number,

b) primary entry of received and sorted waste into the online application and the central database connected to it, whereby the receipt and information about the waste are entered, where the origin of the waste, the destination of the waste, the carrier and the date of receipt of the waste, and the number of the weighing sheet, if desired, are recorded or the weighing sheet itself is attached with any other document (e.g. waste record sheet),

c) the first processing of waste, which is the grinding of bottles and the washing of the resulting PET grind with a suitable agent, preferably water,

d) recording of the first processing of waste, by entering the person or company that performed the process, input materials and output materials, their quantities, forms, possible comments, and the processing procedure, where the entries are:

the weight of the shipment received under a certain record number, the grinding and washing process with the indication of the detergent and, if necessary, the steps of the process, the weight of the material in the form of bottles that went into the grinding and washing, the weight of the obtained ground, washed and dried PET grinder

- amount of process waste,

e) final processing of the PET mill obtained in the previous step by chemical decomposition in a high-pressure reactor, obtaining terephthalic acid that can be used, and whereby the obtained terephthalic acid is properly packaged, and the packaging is equipped with a LOT number unique to it batch of terephthalic acid, recording the final processing by entering the identity of the material, the LOT number, the quantity and, if necessary, also other analyzes such as purity analyzes and the like, g) checking data, adjusting and/or adding missing documents and/or of data, whereby the online application checks all the data entered up to that point, for example, adding and subtracting quantities, checking the lengths of material labels, checking whether attachments are provided, and similar, according to an automated logical verification process.

h) preferential manual verification of the data automatically verified in the previous step, whereby the manual verification is performed by the person who initiated the process for creating the DPL,

i) creation of a DPL containing a suitable code, preferably a QR code, for viewing all steps of the material/recycled/raw material generation process and basic data, especially the LOT number of the basic material

j) the creation of a PDF document and the hash of this document with the created DPL, and this hash is entered into the decentralized BC database.

The system that enables the entire process or its implementation includes at least the following: a server or a server with a database and a part of the BC database, a processor adapted to implement the method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste, as described above, an online application connected to the server and installed on the user's device, whereby the web application is designed in such a way that all data related to processing operators, input and output materials, quantities, quality, reports, etc., can be entered into it, the user's device and the user interface on the device , which can be a smartphone, a tablet, a computer that must have Internet access and a web browser,

- at least one device, and preferably a plurality of devices, for each of the Stern users who process the material to the final material, whereby at least one mentioned device is a computer that has at least part of the BC database in which part of the BC data is entered, m which at the same time acts as a system for verifying the identity of DPL documents against the blockchain database, whereby online traffic between devices included in the blockchain network is coded.

The invention, as described above, allows efficient and reliable tracking of the origin of raw materials with the final release of a document that will be difficult or impossible to change, as it uses blockchain technology. Effective tracking is enabled by entries of all essential processing procedures, intermediate quantities and other specifics (purity, by-products, ...).

The system and method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to the invention will be described below with the help of an implementation example and pictures showing:

Figure 1 Scheme of the method in a simple case

Figure 2 Scheme of the method in a more complex case

Figure 3 Scheme of the process after the finished process of processing the starting material into the finished material

Figure 1 shows the scheme of the method in a simple case, and Figure 2 in a more complex case of processing materials into the final material. In a simple case, a waste processor and one partner are involved, while in a more complex case, in addition to the waste processor, three more partners are involved.

As shown in Figure 1, the waste is picked up and the waste processor records the inventory and registers the waste through the web application on the Server. It then performs the first and second processing, which is duly recorded and registered via the web application to a server with a central database that can change the session. For example, bottles can be used to make PET grinding material, which is a material for the preparation of terephthalic acid. For example, it is recorded that xx kg of the shipment was received under registration no. xxxx, xx kg of material in the form of bottles was put into the grinding and washing process. The output from this was xx ground, washed and dried PET mill + xx kg of waste.

After the first and second processing, the PET grinder is taken over by the partner, which is recorded accordingly. Then the partner carries out the final processing, i.e. into terephthalic acid, which is again registered via the online application. For example, the partner adds the information that xx kg of the grinder produced xx teraphthalic acid and xx kg of waste or by-products, as well as all process comments, if necessary. DPL is then produced, and the prepared raw material, i.e. terephthalic acid, is shipped with DPL. Once the DPL is produced, the hash is written to a decentralized blockchain database.

In a more complex case, as shown in Figure 2, raw materials in liquid and/or solid aggregate states can also be obtained from certain plastic waste through the waste processing process. For example On "xx.xx.xxxx" (stamp sheet no. "χχχχχχχ" and waste record sheet no. "χχχχχχχχχχχ"), the waste processor received xx kg of waste low-density polyethylene film (PE-LD) from the partner company and recorded the receipt in the online application. The next day, he removed "xx" kg of impurities (paper, styrofoam, etc.) from the received shipment and separated the film into "colored" and "non-colored", which he marked accordingly in the online application (from the input "waste PE-LD film, thus obtained and registered three outputs: 1.) non-colored foil xx kg: 2.) colored foil xx kg: 3. impurities). Furthermore, on "xx.xx.xxxx" he further processed the colored film (ground, washed and dried), from which he obtained "xx kg of cleaned colored PE-LD film" and "xx kg of waste from the process", which he again recorded in web application. He then sent the "cleaned and colored PE-LD film" to the high-pressure reactor partner, which was recorded in the online application. The new partner took about a quarter of the shipment and processed it using a pyrolysis process in a high-pressure reactor. In doing so, he obtained "xx liters of liquid fraction - oil", "xx kg of gas fraction - mixed tide" and "xx kg of residue - process waste" from "xx kg of cleaned colored PE-LD film". He entered the input material used and the output materials obtained into the application. At the partner, all three fractions (oil, gas mixture and residue) are final products that are sold on the market. Therefore, the partner marked all the fractions with the appropriate LOT number, packed them in the appropriate packaging, entered all the data into the online application and produced the accompanying DPL for each fraction.

Figure 3 shows the scheme of the process after the end of recycling, when the DPL preparation is completed in the web application and then automatically through the application:

- create a LOT code, or enter a previously created LOT code of the batch,

- a pdf DPL file is generated,

- the application creates a digital fingerprint of the pdf file, i.e. hash that is entered into the blockchain database.

If the user wants to check the identity of the DPL document via the Internet and his device, the server creates a hash of the received DPL file and sends it to the blockchain database for verification. Then all clients in the blockchain network must check the received hash and confirm (if it matches) or reject it (if it does not match). After receiving the responses from the clients of the blockchain network, the server sends a response to the user with information on whether the DPL is identical or not. If there is, the user can then check other details of the material processing process up to the material equipped with the relevant DPL.

Claims (8)

1. The method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste includes at least the following steps: a) accepting waste and, if necessary, sorting it into waste groups, which are stored and labeled with the correct international waste classification number, b) primary entry of received and sorted waste into the online application and the central database connected to it, whereby the receipt and information about the waste are entered, where the origin of the waste, the destination of the waste, the carrier and the date of receipt of the waste, and the number of the weighing sheet, if desired, are recorded or the weighing sheet itself and/or any other document is attached, c) at least the first processing of waste, so that the processed material differs from the input material in at least one physical and/or chemical property, d) recording of the first processing of waste, by entering the person or company that performed the process, input materials and output materials, their quantities, forms, possible comments, and the processing process, e) final processing, whereby the final material that can be used is obtained, it is equipped with a LOT number or batch number, whereby the first processing may already be the final processing, f) recording of the final processing, by entering the identity of the material, the LOT number, the quantity, and, if necessary, other analyses, such as purity analyses, etc., g) data verification, adjustment and/or addition of missing documents m/ah data, whereby the online application checks all the data entered up to that point according to an automated logical verification process, for example summation and subtraction of quantities, checks the lengths of material labels, checks whether attachments are provided , etc, h) preferential manual verification of the data automatically verified in the previous step, whereby the manual verification is performed by the person who initiated the process for creating the DPL, i) creation of a DPL, which contains a suitable code for viewing all steps of the material/recycled/raw material generation process and basic data, especially the LOT number of the basic material, and j) the creation of a PDF document and the hash of this document with the created DPL and the entry of a digital fingerprint, i.e. hash, DPL documents to a decentralized blockchain database. 2. A method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to claim 1, where between the first and final processing there is a second and, if necessary, any further processing, whereby the obtained first processed material is processed in such a way as to obtain the second processed material, which differs from the first processed material in at least one physical and/or chemical property. 3. A method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to claim 2, where after the second and, if necessary, each further processing, the recording of the second and each subsequent processing is carried out, by entering the person or company that carried out the process, the input materials and starting materials, their quantities, forms, possible comments, and the processing process. 4. A method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to any of the previous claims, where during the duration of waste collection and processing and recycling, all data is entered into a central database, which is an SQL database. 5. Method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to any of the previous claims, where entries are possible when recording processing: - the weight of the shipment received below a certain record number, - the processing procedure and, if necessary, the steps of the procedure, - the weight of the material that went into processing, - the weight of the obtained processed material, - amount of waste. 6. A method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to any of the preceding claims, where the code with which the DPL is equipped is any suitable code used in the field, preferably a QR code, a bar code, a numerical code, serial number, password. 7. A method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from recycled waste according to claim 6, wherein the code is a QR code and is a link to a web address where the DPL is uploaded. 8. The system that enables the entire procedure or its execution includes at least the following: - a server or a server with a database and a part of the BC database, - a processor adapted to implement a method for ensuring traceability and proving the origin of raw materials prepared from processed waste according to any of the preceding claims, - a web application connected to the server and installed on the user's device, whereby the web application is designed in such a way that all data related to processing providers, input and output materials, quantities, quality, reports, and the like can be entered into it, - the user's device and the user interface on the device, which can be a smartphone, a tablet, a computer that must have Internet access and a web browser, - at least one device, and preferably a plurality of devices, for each of the users of the system who process the material to the final material, whereby at least one device mentioned is a computer that has at least part of the BC database in which part of the BC data is entered, and which at the same time works as a system for verifying the identity of DPL documents against the blockchain database, whereby online traffic between devices included in the blockchain network is coded.