MECHANIZED SEPARATION OF MIXED SOLID WASTE AND RECOVERY OF RECYCLABLE PRODUCTS
First Claim
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1. A method for recovering recyclable materials from mixed solid waste stream, comprising:
- providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least one high value recyclable material selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, and metal, wherein the mixed waste stream includes at least 20% by weight of low value material selected from the group consisting of wet organics, green waste, food waste, grit, fines less than 1 inch, asphalt, concrete, textiles, and wood, rubber, film plastic, PVC, foil, rock, used consumer products, low value glass, composite materials, and combinations of these;
fractionating the mixed waste stream by size using a size separator to produce a plurality of intermediate waste streams;
conveying at least a first intermediate waste stream to a sorting apparatus;
sensing an amount of the intermediate waste stream conveyed to the sorting apparatus and metering conveyance in response thereto; and
sorting the first intermediate waste streams using the sorting apparatus to produce at least one recyclable product and recovering the at least one recyclable product.
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Abstract
The method and systems efficiently extract recyclable materials from a mixed solid waste stream. The methods and systems use sizing, density and dimensional separation to produce intermediate waste streams that are enriched in particular recyclable materials. The recyclable materials can then be efficiently sorted from the individual intermediate streams using mechanized sorting equipment.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for recovering recyclable materials from mixed solid waste stream, comprising:
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providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least one high value recyclable material selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, and metal, wherein the mixed waste stream includes at least 20% by weight of low value material selected from the group consisting of wet organics, green waste, food waste, grit, fines less than 1 inch, asphalt, concrete, textiles, and wood, rubber, film plastic, PVC, foil, rock, used consumer products, low value glass, composite materials, and combinations of these; fractionating the mixed waste stream by size using a size separator to produce a plurality of intermediate waste streams; conveying at least a first intermediate waste stream to a sorting apparatus; sensing an amount of the intermediate waste stream conveyed to the sorting apparatus and metering conveyance in response thereto; and sorting the first intermediate waste streams using the sorting apparatus to produce at least one recyclable product and recovering the at least one recyclable product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for recovering recyclable materials from mixed solid waste stream, comprising:
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providing a mixed waste stream comprising at least two high value recyclable material selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, and metal, wherein the mixed waste stream includes at least 20% by weight of low value material selected from the group consisting of wet organics, green waste, food waste, grit, fines less than 1 inch, asphalt, concrete, textiles, and wood, rubber, film plastic, PVC, foil, rock, used consumer products, low value glass, composite materials, and combinations of these; fractionating the mixed waste stream by size using a size separator to produce a plurality of intermediate waste streams; conveying one or more intermediate waste streams to a plurality of sorting apparatuses; sensing an amount of the one or more intermediate waste streams conveyed to each of the plurality of sorting apparatuses and independently metering conveyance in response thereto; and sorting the one or more intermediate waste streams using the plurality of sorting apparatuses to produce at least two recyclable products and recovering the at least two recyclable products. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification