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Mechanized separation of mixed solid waste and recovery of recyclable products using optical sorter

  • US 9,649,666 B2
  • Filed: 03/31/2014
  • Issued: 05/16/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method for recovering recyclable materials from mixed solid waste stream using optical sorters, comprising:

  • providing a mixed waste stream comprising high value recyclable material including paper and rigid plastic, 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, 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 by performing an upper size cut and a lower size cut to produce a sized waste stream, the sized waste stream having a size range where the ratio of an upper cut-off to a lower cut-off is less than 8;

    fractionating the sized waste stream by density to produce an intermediate stream enriched in the paper and plastic;

    sorting the intermediate stream using a plurality of optical sorters configured to produce a sorted paper material and/or a sorted plastic material.

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