Systems and methods for processing mixed solid waste
First Claim
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1. A method for processing mixed solid waste, comprising:
- providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least 10 wt % wet organic waste and at least 10 wt % dry organic waste that is comingled, wherein the dry organic waste includes fiber and plastic;
fractionating the mixed waste stream by size to produce one or more sized waste streams, each sized waste stream having an upper size cut and a lower size cut where the ratio of an upper cut-off to a lower cut-off is less than 8; and
fractionating the one or more sized waste stream by density to produce a plurality of intermediate waste streams having different densities, the plurality including at least a first intermediate waste stream that includes fiber and plastic;
sorting the first intermediate stream to produce a sorted fiber material or a sorted plastic material;
converting the sorted fiber material or sorted plastic material to one or more renewable products; and
converting at least a portion of a second waste stream of the plurality to one or more renewable products using a first conversion technique.
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Abstract
Solid waste that includes a mixture of wet organic material and dry organic material can be are separated using mechanical separation to produce a wet organic stream enriched in wet organics and a dry organic stream enriched in dry organics. The separated wet organic stream and dry organic stream are separately converted to renewable or recyclable products using different conversion techniques particularly suited for the separated wet and dry organic streams.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for processing mixed solid waste, comprising:
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providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least 10 wt % wet organic waste and at least 10 wt % dry organic waste that is comingled, wherein the dry organic waste includes fiber and plastic; fractionating the mixed waste stream by size to produce one or more sized waste streams, each sized waste stream having an upper size cut and a lower size cut where the ratio of an upper cut-off to a lower cut-off is less than 8; and fractionating the one or more sized waste stream by density to produce a plurality of intermediate waste streams having different densities, the plurality including at least a first intermediate waste stream that includes fiber and plastic; sorting the first intermediate stream to produce a sorted fiber material or a sorted plastic material; converting the sorted fiber material or sorted plastic material to one or more renewable products; and converting at least a portion of a second waste stream of the plurality to one or more renewable products using a first conversion technique. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for processing mixed solid waste, comprising:
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providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least 20 wt % wet organic waste and at least 20 wt % dry organic waste that is comingled, wherein the dry organic waste includes fiber and plastic; fractionating the mixed waste stream by size to produce one or more sized waste streams, each sized waste stream having an upper size cut and a lower size cut where the ratio of an upper cut-off to a lower cut-off is less than 8; and fractionating the one or more sized waste stream by density to produce at least three intermediate waste streams having different densities, wherein at least a first intermediate waste stream includes fiber and plastic; sorting the first intermediate stream using a plurality of optical sorters to produce a sorted fiber material or a sorted plastic material; converting the sorted fiber material or sorted plastic material to one or more renewable products; converting at least a portion of the second waste into a second renewable product; and recovering aluminum from at least a portion of the three intermediate waste streams.
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Specification