Mobile apparatus and process for treating infectious waste

TLDR: In this paper, a mobile self-contained apparatus and process for grinding, grating, macerating, chemically disinfecting, and drying infectious waste material on-site is disclosed.

Abstract: A mobile self-contained apparatus and process for grinding, grating, macerating, chemically disinfecting, and drying infectious waste material on-site is disclosed. A trailer (10) contains a hopper (27) and a system of grinder/graters, enclosed conveyors, drying and filter apparatus, and sources of power, chemical disinfectant, and fresh water. Bagged infectious waste material in a cart (C) is lifted and dumped into a hopper (27), fed to a first grinder/grater (28, 29), ground and grated into particles, immersed in a sodium hypochlorite (hypochlorous acid) chemical disinfectant solution, and conveyed by an enclosed upwardly inclined screw conveyor (34) to a second grinder/grater (43). The particles are sprayed one or more times with the disinfectant and thoroughly mixed together as they are conveyed in the inclined conveyor (34) into the second grinder/grater (43) operating at a higher speed than the first and further ground, grated, and macerated into smaller particles, and air dried to produce a dry confetti-like material which is unrecognizable as to the source. The confetti-like material is conveyed by an enclosed horizontal screw conveyor (45) to an enclosed vertical screw conveyor (47) where it is passed upwardly to an enclosed rotatable discharge screw conveyor (50) which discharges the confetti-like material into a receptacle. The enclosed system operates under negative pressure produced by a suction fan which draws the air within the system through a hepa-filter (40) to remove chemical fumes, airborne dust, odors and bacteria.