Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context

Waste management is one of the key areas where circular models should be promoted, as it plays a crucial role in minimizing environmental impact and conserving resources. Effective material identification and classification are essential for optimizing recycling processes and selecting the appropria...

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Main Authors: Giuseppe Bonifazi, Idiano D’Adamo, Roberta Palmieri, Silvia Serranti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Clean Technologies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/7/1/26
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author Giuseppe Bonifazi
Idiano D’Adamo
Roberta Palmieri
Silvia Serranti
author_facet Giuseppe Bonifazi
Idiano D’Adamo
Roberta Palmieri
Silvia Serranti
author_sort Giuseppe Bonifazi
collection DOAJ
description Waste management is one of the key areas where circular models should be promoted, as it plays a crucial role in minimizing environmental impact and conserving resources. Effective material identification and classification are essential for optimizing recycling processes and selecting the appropriate production equipment. Proper sorting of materials enhances both the efficiency and sustainability of recycling systems. The proposed study explores the potential of using a cost-effective strategy based on hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to classify space waste products, an emerging challenge in waste management. Specifically, it investigates the use of HSI sensors operating in the near-infrared range to detect and identify materials for sorting and classification. Analyses are focused on textile and plastic materials. The results show promising potential for further research, suggesting that the HSI approach is capable of effectively identifying and classifying various categories of materials. The predicted images achieve exceptional sensitivity and specificity, ranging from 0.989 to 1.000 and 0.995 to 1.000, respectively. Using cost-effective, non-invasive HSI technology could offer a significant improvement over traditional methods of waste classification, particularly in the challenging context of space operations. The implications of this work identify how technology enables the development of circular models geared toward sustainable development hence proper classification and distinction of materials as they allow for better material recovery and end-of-life management, ultimately contributing to more efficient recycling, waste valorization, and sustainable development practices.
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spelling doaj-art-c95b53d3cf80452489e2cce9d9b31cae2025-08-20T02:11:12ZengMDPI AGClean Technologies2571-87972025-03-01712610.3390/cleantechnol7010026Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy ContextGiuseppe Bonifazi0Idiano D’Adamo1Roberta Palmieri2Silvia Serranti3Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, ItalyWaste management is one of the key areas where circular models should be promoted, as it plays a crucial role in minimizing environmental impact and conserving resources. Effective material identification and classification are essential for optimizing recycling processes and selecting the appropriate production equipment. Proper sorting of materials enhances both the efficiency and sustainability of recycling systems. The proposed study explores the potential of using a cost-effective strategy based on hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to classify space waste products, an emerging challenge in waste management. Specifically, it investigates the use of HSI sensors operating in the near-infrared range to detect and identify materials for sorting and classification. Analyses are focused on textile and plastic materials. The results show promising potential for further research, suggesting that the HSI approach is capable of effectively identifying and classifying various categories of materials. The predicted images achieve exceptional sensitivity and specificity, ranging from 0.989 to 1.000 and 0.995 to 1.000, respectively. Using cost-effective, non-invasive HSI technology could offer a significant improvement over traditional methods of waste classification, particularly in the challenging context of space operations. The implications of this work identify how technology enables the development of circular models geared toward sustainable development hence proper classification and distinction of materials as they allow for better material recovery and end-of-life management, ultimately contributing to more efficient recycling, waste valorization, and sustainable development practices.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/7/1/26hyperspectral imagingrecyclingcharacterizationspace waste materials
spellingShingle Giuseppe Bonifazi
Idiano D’Adamo
Roberta Palmieri
Silvia Serranti
Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
Clean Technologies
hyperspectral imaging
recycling
characterization
space waste materials
title Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
title_full Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
title_fullStr Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
title_full_unstemmed Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
title_short Recycling-Oriented Characterization of Space Waste Through Clean Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in a Circular Economy Context
title_sort recycling oriented characterization of space waste through clean hyperspectral imaging technology in a circular economy context
topic hyperspectral imaging
recycling
characterization
space waste materials
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/7/1/26
work_keys_str_mv AT giuseppebonifazi recyclingorientedcharacterizationofspacewastethroughcleanhyperspectralimagingtechnologyinacirculareconomycontext
AT idianodadamo recyclingorientedcharacterizationofspacewastethroughcleanhyperspectralimagingtechnologyinacirculareconomycontext
AT robertapalmieri recyclingorientedcharacterizationofspacewastethroughcleanhyperspectralimagingtechnologyinacirculareconomycontext
AT silviaserranti recyclingorientedcharacterizationofspacewastethroughcleanhyperspectralimagingtechnologyinacirculareconomycontext