Towards a sharable knowledge base on recyclable plastics

Abstract

For economic decision processes, recycling of products and production waste is getting more important. In the future the integration of recycling-relevant data into the information structures of companies should be supported by knowledge-based methods. We present the conception of a knowledge base for recycling-oriented product and production planning (RPPP). Then we take a detailed look at the fundamental materials module. We examine which evolution techniques are appropriate for the maintenance of such knowledge bases. In particular, we study the validation of existing materials and the exploration of new ones with regard to their recyclability. An appendix includes a script of a real sample dialogue with our knowledge base on recyclable thermoplastics (RTPLAST).