In using the autoclaving systems in the treatment of MSW, the wastes may
initially be screened for the removal of any large items and in some cases possibly
shredded. The wastes components are then sealed in the autoclave chamber that
rotates to agitate and mix the wastes. Because of the residence time of the wastes in
the chamber and high temperature and pressure, all the bacteria content in the wastes
will be destroyed, thereby sterilising all the wastes in the chamber. However, a
significant reduction of up to 60% in the volume of the wastes can be achieved with a
significant reduction of the moisture content of the wastes.
The cellulose of the organic components of the feed wastes including food,
garden wastes, papers, cards and all sorts of organic components in the MSW stream
is broken down to mush of fibre also known as floc or fluff. After the autoclaving
process, the wastes are usually discharged for treatment using mechanical separation
technologies. The typical outputs and aggregates of the autoclaving process are
given in Table 1.
It is clear from the table that, the fibre is the main output of the MSW autoclaving
process since biodegradables constitute the highest proportion in the MSW stream.
Diverse applications are proposed for the recycling and recovering the fibre among
Fig. 6 Small-scale autoclave facility (With permission from: [4])
Table 1 Typical outputs and
aggregates of the autoclaving
process
Component
Percentage (%)
Organic fibre
64
Recyclables
17.5
Aggregate
2.5
Other materials suitable for landfill
16
Mixed plastics
9
Glass
4
Steel
3.5
Aluminium
1
186
A. A. Gado et al.
initially be screened for the removal of any large items and in some cases possibly
shredded. The wastes components are then sealed in the autoclave chamber that
rotates to agitate and mix the wastes. Because of the residence time of the wastes in
the chamber and high temperature and pressure, all the bacteria content in the wastes
will be destroyed, thereby sterilising all the wastes in the chamber. However, a
significant reduction of up to 60% in the volume of the wastes can be achieved with a
significant reduction of the moisture content of the wastes.
The cellulose of the organic components of the feed wastes including food,
garden wastes, papers, cards and all sorts of organic components in the MSW stream
is broken down to mush of fibre also known as floc or fluff. After the autoclaving
process, the wastes are usually discharged for treatment using mechanical separation
technologies. The typical outputs and aggregates of the autoclaving process are
given in Table 1.
It is clear from the table that, the fibre is the main output of the MSW autoclaving
process since biodegradables constitute the highest proportion in the MSW stream.
Diverse applications are proposed for the recycling and recovering the fibre among
Fig. 6 Small-scale autoclave facility (With permission from: [4])
Table 1 Typical outputs and
aggregates of the autoclaving
process
Component
Percentage (%)
Organic fibre
64
Recyclables
17.5
Aggregate
2.5
Other materials suitable for landfill
16
Mixed plastics
9
Glass
4
Steel
3.5
Aluminium
1
186
A. A. Gado et al.