US 6,745,706 B2 · Process and apparatus for disposing of municipal solid waste

Abstract

A system for disposing of municipal solid waste 10) provides commercially-available equipment that is modified to initially remove identifiable unwanted components from the waste (12), and then chop the waste into small pieces (16) of a size suitable for handling and combustion. The moisture content of the waste is reduced in a closed system (20) by passing dry air through the waste in a confined space (30) to absorb moisture and produce moist air, which is then dehumidified via refrigeration equipment (34). The dehumidified air is recycled (30, 40) through the waste repeatedly through the closed system (20) until the water content has reached the predetermined amount. The waste is stored in a bunker (41) for later burning, or is immediately burned in a furnace (24) to produce heat that is used to produce steam (50), which drives a generator (26) to produce electricity (52) that is partly used to power the process and partly sold commercially.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method of processing municipal solid waste to maximize recovery of recyclable and inert waste components and to condition the remainder as fuel for combustion to produce energy, comprising the steps of;

a. chopping the waste into small pieces of a size suitable for handling and combustion,
b. conveying the chopped waste to a closed drying chamber,
c. conveying the chopped waste through the closed drying chamber at a predetermined rate of travel,
d. reducing the moisture content of the waste in the closed drying chamber to a predetermined amount in a closed air circulation system by passing warm dry sir through the waste in a confined space to absorb moisture and produce moist air, dehumidifying the moist air via a refrigeration cycle, recycling the dehumidified air through the waste repeatedly in the closed system to produce dried waste without appreciably raising the temperature of the waste, and choosing the predetermined rate of travel so that the moisture content of the chopped waste has reached the predetermined amount when it exits the closed drying chamber as dried waste,
e. removing the recyclable and inert components from the dried waste to produce combustible dried waste,
f. combusting the combustible dried waste to produce heat and
g. producing steam from the heat.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Process and apparatus for disposing of municipal solid waste

Life of this patent

Process and apparatus for disposing of municipal solid waste

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15