Process and assembly to sterilise hospital wastes - conveys waste through two-stage helical conveyor forming heated compressed plugs

摘要

In a process and assembly (1) to treat contaminated especially infected hospital waste materials, the wastes are deposited in a chute (2) to a helical conveyer (5, 12) in which they are heated, disinfected and sterilised before discharge (21). The novelty is that: (a) the waste materials are supplied to a heated first section (5) of the helical conveyer in which they are also compressed; (b) by the time the waste reaches the end of the helical conveyer, it has become compressed to form a plug (25); (c) when reaching the end of the heated section (5), the waste material is released into a treatment chamber (8) in which it is no longer compressed and allowed to relax; (d) before reaching the treatment chamber (8), the heated wastes pass through a second helical conveyer section (12); (e) in both the treatment chamber (8) and second helical conveyer section (12) the wastes are exposed to defined energy impulses or steam, raising the temperature and maintaining it at a predetermined level and duration; (f) the wastes are compressed to form a second plug (26) while passing through the final section of the second helical conveyer, such that high pressure is maintained between the two plugs (25, 26) for a defined period.