Global perspective: Building an intelligent purification system for the entire production process | Interview with Wang Wang 9

In the scorching summer of Hefei, in the Zhongke Optoelectronics Plastic Sorting and Testing Center, more than 80 sets of equipment including plastic sorting are running at high speed, with whole bottle sorting machines, daily miscellaneous material sorting machines, and high-end particle sorting machines arranged in a straight line in different areas. There are both mature models that have been put into production and the latest results that are still being tested on site.
Vice General Manager Wang Hong stood between the equipment and introduced to us the technical layout of Zhongke Optoelectronics in the field of renewable resource sorting - from PET whole bottles to sheet materials, from hard mixed plastics to high-end particles, forming an intelligent sorting system covering the entire process.

— 1 —
PET: From Barrier Agent to Deep Purification of "Bottle to Bottle"

One of the biggest pain points in the PET industry in the past few years has been the mixing of barrier agent bottles. This type of bottle is transparent at room temperature, but it will turn yellow when heated, affecting the quality of the recycled film.
Zhongke Optoelectronics will launch barrier agent whole bottle and sheet sorting technology in 2025, using multiple methods such as label recognition, fluorescence aging sorting, and material decomposition to accurately remove barrier agent bottles. Under different impurity ratios, the impurity content can gradually decrease from 15000 ppm to 500 ppm or even 300 ppm, providing assurance for export grade products.
Wang Hong emphasized that this is not only driven by customer demand, but also by industry goals: "Customer satisfaction is our pursuit, but we need to set higher purity targets for the industry

Unlike PET, which has a relatively single composition, the material combination of Japanese miscellaneous materials and hard mixed plastics is complex and the proportion fluctuates greatly.
Zhongke Optoelectronics adopts a solution of full spectrum detection and customized chemical stages, and tailors equipment for each stage according to the characteristics of customer materials. For example, PP needs to consider the separation of flame retardant and non flame retardant, homopolymer and copolymer, while PE needs to separate high pressure and low pressure.
The goal is not just 98% purity, but to approach the performance of raw materials as closely as possible, so that recycled materials can directly return to their original use - "bottle cap to bottle cap, refrigerator to refrigerator".

When Zhongke Optoelectronics entered the field of plastic sorting, it did not directly enter the fiercely competitive mainstream market, but chose tailings - raw materials with low value, high difficulty, and that mainstream manufacturers were unwilling to produce.
By solving the purification problem of tailings, the company has established technical barriers and gradually expanded to multiple sub fields such as polyester, daily necessities, and high-end particles. This path of "flank breakthrough - gradually entering the mainstream - feeding back to the original field" has enabled Zhongke Optoelectronics to form a unique advantage in competition.

In the production of high-end plastic products, even a 0.8mm black dot may render the entire batch unusable.
Zhongke Optoelectronics' AI particle sorting machine can identify tiny black spots and discolored particles that are even invisible to the naked eye, making it suitable for applications such as automotive parts and food grade packaging that require extremely high surface quality.
Wang Hong gave an example that the equipment can improve POM purification from 97% to nearly 99%, which may seem like a leap from "0.1 to 0.2", but it is the result of huge technological investment.

Traditional plastic recycling relies heavily on result based quality inspection, while real-time quality inspection and feedback throughout the entire production process are the future direction.
Zhongke Optoelectronics sets up detection ports at various stages of the production line to provide real-time feedback of detection data to the equipment, achieving dynamic adjustment and reducing labor and detection costs.
This model has been extended to both the purchasing and shipping ends - customers can be equipped with self checking machines to accurately evaluate raw materials and products, avoiding losses caused by inaccurate estimates.

Hefei has become a gathering place for national optoelectronic sorting equipment, with advantages in origin, talent, and supporting facilities.
On a global scale, China's recycling system has a wide coverage and high complexity, while Europe and America have strict control over raw materials, but the scenarios are single. Wang Hong believes that this is actually an opportunity for Chinese technology to go global - "A full scenario, full range recycling environment is rare in the world

— 7 —
Future technological directions

Accurate sorting of black plastic: It can now solve some scenarios (such as household appliances and car dismantling), and will continue to deepen in the future.
Automatic laying of film and fabric: solving the problem of uneven feeding of agricultural film, clothing fabric heads, etc.
Automated sorting assisted by robotic arms: improving the processing efficiency of soft and irregular materials.

Wang Hong bluntly stated that technology is the threshold for the industry. In industries without mandatory admission, only technology can achieve survival of the fittest and promote the upgrading of industries to high standards.
Your needs are our pursuit, but industry and international goals are the ultimate goals we aim to achieve

— 9 —
conclusion
From tailings to high-end particles, from manual picking to full process intelligence, Zhongke Optoelectronics' technology has promoted the bottom-up upgrade of the plastic recycling industry.
Against the backdrop of global plastic pollution control becoming an international issue, this is not only the competitiveness of enterprises, but also China's contribution to the circular economy.

Embracing the era of China's mandatory use of recycled plastics with resilience, resilience, and technological breakthroughs
Zhongke Optoelectronics has been invited to participate in ChinaReplas2025 (Ningbo) with its comprehensive purification equipment
Booth number A02
From September 3rd to 5th, 2025, at the Ningbo International Convention and Exhibition Center in Zhejiang Province, ChinaReplas2025, the 8th China International Plastic Recycling Exhibition will gather plastic recycling, recycled plastics, recycled equipment, and closed-loop solutions. Comprehensively showcasing the sustainable development achievements of polymer companies, brand manufacturers, modification enterprises, and plastic packaging product enterprises, providing a commercial platform for the upstream and downstream of the plastic recycling industry chain, a sales platform for recycling enterprises and recycling equipment, selecting high-quality suppliers of recycled materials for fields such as home appliances, automobiles, packaging, power tools, construction, and textiles, connecting with qualified PCR material suppliers for terminals, and connecting with the latest recycling technologies and equipment for recycling enterprises.