ENGINEER 2PX3: INTEGRATED ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT 2

Week 4: Asynchronous Design Studio

McMaster Recycling Plant Design
Performance Layer

Overview
The purpose of this week’s asynchronous activity is for you to familiarize yourself with the technical
objectives and deliverables of your project. Also, you will begin research for the Performance layer of the
PERSEID method. You will also be given time to continue working on your technical memo.

Technical Objectives
From your discussions with the client, you should have noted that the McMaster recycling plant should
meet the following objectives.

1. Able to process all recyclable waste produced at McMaster while only operating on the weekends
2. The recycling plant should have a high level of sorting accuracy to minimize the amount of
unsorted/missorted waste
3. Process design should be robust so that students can tinker with the machines and not negatively
affect the performance of the recycling plant.
4. The recycling plant should maximize automation to reduce the number of workers needed.
5. Recycling Plant should be located on the first floor of JHE (JHE 109).

The requirements above are the minimum requirements for the project, your team may have identified more
technical requirements project.

Technical Deliverables
Your team is asked to assess the feasibility of the project. For the final report, your team will provide your
assessment of the project. If the project is deemed feasible, your team will provide your client with a
potential design of the recycling plant. If the project is deemed not feasible, your team will suggest an
alternative (e.g. changing the plant location) that can make the project feasible and provide a potential
design of the recycling plant.

For the potential design of the recycling plant, you will need to include:
ENGINEER 2PX3: INTEGRATED ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT 2

• A process flow diagram of the recycling plant

• A floorplan of the recycling plant
• A list of selected unit operations for the plant
• An operation schedule for waste management
• A Gantt chart for implementing the recycling plant

Your team can choose to include more technical deliverables for the final report, the list above are the
minimum requirements.

Technical Performance Research

Now that you know the technical requirements for the project. Conduct preliminary research focusing on the
performance layer, focusing on parameters of the project that affect performance. Remember to record the
references you find along with your findings. You will share your findings with your group during the
synchronous design studio.

https://labourmarketinsights.gov.au/occupation-profile/recycling-workers?occupationCode=839918

• The space constraint limits the design of the recycling plant

• The space needed for the cleaning process of recyclables is crucial as thorough cleaning is needed for
accurate recycling process.

• The budget constraint is of importance since this will define how many workers we need at the plant versus
how much of the process we should automate

• Workers are typically needed for cleaning the incoming items as well as break larger items apart, these
things will most likely be automized

• The time constraint of 48 hours is essential to consider since this is important when considering efficiency
of recycling plant design

https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/optimal-optics-july-
2016/#:~:text=For%20the%20most%20part%2C%20most,is%20presented%20to%20the%20equipment.

• Optical sorters have a 99% purity rate and these are the types of devices listed in the catalog of the
project module
ENGINEER 2PX3: INTEGRATED ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT 2

• It will enhance the efficiency of the sorting process when compared to manual sorting

• This purity rate depends on the cleanliness of the objects presented, it could go down to 80 percent so
it is important to have a thorough enough cleaning process

Technical Memo
Please use this space to document your research. Remember to cite all sources using the IEEE citation
style. This week you are encouraged to start your technical memo outline based on the information you
have found in your research. If you need some inspiration, take a look at this link to get you started.

• The recycling industry has been around for many years. The technology involved in this process is rapidly transforming
through time. The biggest breakthrough is in the sorting process with regards to optical sorting. This is an automated sorting
process that involves the sensor assessing the material of the recyclable object presented to it and the appearance of the
object [1].
• This optical sorter involves machine-human interaction and therefore there are safety features on this design [2].
• It uses short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral detection system, it is used to detect materials such as several types of
plastic, fibre products, wood products and more [3].
• This sorter recognizes color and has metal detection as well[3].
• The rate of recognition is 1ms for the HYPSEC sorter[3]
• The high recognition rate is an important factor in the 48 hour time constraint [3].
• The accuracy and efficiency of this sorter makes this technology worth the investment[3].

Hilary Crisan | July 2016, “Optimal Optics,” Recycling Today. [Online]. Available:
https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/optimal-optics-july-
2016/#:~:text=For%20the%20most%20part%2C%20most,is%20presented%20to%20the%20equipment.
[Accessed: 29-Jan-2023].

“Mach Hyspec recycling optical sorting,” Machinex, 24-Jan-2023. [Online]. Available:

https://www.machinexrecycling.com/products/optical-sorters-mach-hyspec-2/. [Accessed: 29-Jan-2023].
ENGINEER 2PX3: INTEGRATED ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT 2

2015 Recycling Today Staff | May 14, “MACHINEX introduces Optical Sorter,” Construction & Demolition Recycling.
[Online]. Available: https://www.cdrecycler.com/news/machinex-optical-sorter-mach-hyspec/. [Accessed: 29-
Jan-2023].

Your attendance grade will be affected by your completion of this document, since you will be discussing
the research in this week’s design studio.

Submission Instructions
Upload a *.pdf copy of the Wk-4 – MRPD Asynchronous Design Studio 4 Worksheet to the Avenue
Dropbox by following [Assessments > Assignments > Asynchronous Design Studio Week 4] by the
start of your synchronous design studio time.

Please name your files as such: macID_AsynchDS4.pdf (ex. “doej15_AsynchDS4.pdf”)