Waste converter

A waste converter is a machine used for the treatment and recycling of solid and liquid refuse material. A converter is a self-contained system capable of performing the following functions: pasteurization of organic waste; sterilization of pathogenic or biohazard waste; grinding and pulverization of refuse into unrecognizable output; trash compaction; dehydration. Because of the wide variety of functions available on converters, this technology has found application in diverse waste-producing industrial segments. Hospitals, clinics, municipal waste facilities, farms, slaughterhouses, supermarkets, ports, sea vessels, and airports are the primary beneficiaries of on-site waste conversion.

The converter is an evolution of the autoclave, invented by Sir Charles Chamberland in 1879, but differs from a waste autoclave in several key characteristics. While the autoclave relies on high temperature and pressure to achieve moist heat sterilization of waste, a converter operates in the atmospheric pressure range. Superheating conditions and steam generation are achieved by variable pressure control, which cycles between ambient and negative pressure within the sterilization cell. The advantage of this updated approach is a safer and less complicated operation that does not require a pressure vessel. Additionally, while autoclaves require external water input, modern converters utilize the moisture content already present in the conversion cell to generate steam sterilization conditions. Any water that is introduced into the process can be recycled in a closed-loop system as opposed to being dumped as run-off sewage. In general, the converter is a simplified, cleaner, and more efficient update to Sir Charles's invention.

Converter technology is an environmentally friendly alternative to other traditional means of waste disposal that include incineration, plasma arc, and landfill dumping in that waste conversion results in a small carbon footprint, avoids polluting emissions into the atmosphere, and results in a usable end product such as biofuel, soil compost, or building material (see also Refuse-derived fuel).