Mechanized separation and recovery system for solid waste
First Claim
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1. A method for separating solid waste comprising:
- providing a mixed solid waste stream that includes wet organic waste, dry organic waste, and inorganic waste;
shredding the mixed solid waste in a shredder to produce a comminuted waste having a first size distribution, wherein the shredder has cutting blades or knives configured to cut paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and/or textiles to a size and shape suitable for separation in an air density separator;
fractionating the comminuted solid waste by size to produce an under fraction enriched in wet organic material and an over fraction enriched in dry organic material including at least two materials selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and textiles; and
fractionating the over fraction in a first density separator to produce a heavy fraction and a light fraction and separating the heavy fraction in a second density separator to produce a wet organic fraction and an inorganic fraction; and
recovering one or more dry organic products from the light fraction or a downstream portion thereof, the dry organic products including a mixture of at least two materials selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and textiles.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for separating a mixed waste into a wet organic fraction, a dry organic fraction, and an inorganic fraction are achieved by (i) comminuting the mixed solid waste, (ii) fractionating the comminuted stream by size to produce two or more particle-sized waste streams, and (iii) processing one or more of the particle-sized waste streams using density separation to produce an intermediate wastes stream, and (iv) recovering a homogenous product (e.g., a recyclable material or an organic fuel) from the intermediate waste stream.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for separating solid waste comprising:
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providing a mixed solid waste stream that includes wet organic waste, dry organic waste, and inorganic waste; shredding the mixed solid waste in a shredder to produce a comminuted waste having a first size distribution, wherein the shredder has cutting blades or knives configured to cut paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and/or textiles to a size and shape suitable for separation in an air density separator; fractionating the comminuted solid waste by size to produce an under fraction enriched in wet organic material and an over fraction enriched in dry organic material including at least two materials selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and textiles; and fractionating the over fraction in a first density separator to produce a heavy fraction and a light fraction and separating the heavy fraction in a second density separator to produce a wet organic fraction and an inorganic fraction; and recovering one or more dry organic products from the light fraction or a downstream portion thereof, the dry organic products including a mixture of at least two materials selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and textiles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for separating solid waste, comprising:
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a shredder configured to receive a mixed solid waste and comminute the mixed waste to produce a comminuted waste having a first size distribution, wherein the shredder has cutting blades or knives configured to cut paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and/or textiles to a size and shape suitable for separation in an air density separator; at least a first size separation unit configured to receive comminuted waste from the comminuting device and fractionate the comminuted waste based on size to produce an under fraction and an over fraction, wherein the over fraction includes paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and/or textiles; a first density separation unit configured to receive the over fraction and separate the over fraction based on density to produce light fraction and a heavy fraction; a second density separation unit configured to receive the heavy fraction and produce a wet organic fraction and an inorganic fraction; and one or more conveyors configured to recover a dry organic fuel from the light fraction or a downstream portion thereof, the dry organic fuel having at least two materials selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic, rubber, wood, and textiles. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification