Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L11/00—Methods specially adapted for refuse
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
  • B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
  • B02C19/00—Other disintegrating devices or methods
  • B02C19/0056—Other disintegrating devices or methods specially adapted for specific materials not otherwise provided for
  • B02C19/0075—Other disintegrating devices or methods specially adapted for specific materials not otherwise provided for specially adapted for disintegrating medical waste
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
  • B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
  • B02C19/00—Other disintegrating devices or methods
  • B02C19/18—Use of auxiliary physical effects, e.g. ultrasonics, irradiation, for disintegrating
  • B02C19/186—Use of cold or heat for disintegrating
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B09—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL
  • B09B—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B09B3/00—Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless
  • B09B3/0075—Disposal of medical waste
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L2/00—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor
  • A61L2/02—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor using physical phenomena
  • A61L2/04—Heat
  • A61L2/06—Hot gas
  • A61L2/07—Steam

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for treating waste with infectious risks, in particular hospital waste, in which at least a first step of said grinding is carried out to transform them into unrecognizable grinds, followed by a second step known as decontamination. said unrecognizable grinds, then a third step said evacuation of said deconnaminated unrecognizable grinds with a view to eliminating them as household waste.
• the present invention also relates to waste treatment equipment with infectious risks comprising at least one grinding zone, followed by at least one decontamination zone and then at least one evacuation zone.
• the wastes concerned by the invention include contaminated hospital waste, also referred to as infectious risk care waste (DASRI), such as plastics, paper, bandages, syringes, blood and urine bags, waste dialysis, as well as other solid as well as liquid wastes packed in plastic bags, plastic or cardboard drums.
• DASRI infectious risk care waste
• the publication WO 2009/0195570 proposes a sterilization of previously milled waste, by injecting ozone in gaseous or liquid form, and / or by ultraviolet radiation into an enclosure through which the mills are flowing continuously on conveyor belts. Depending on the solution chosen, the waste is sorted according to its solid or liquid nature, which complicates and increases the treatment.
• decontaminated waste is standardized and can be treated as household waste, disposed of by conventional incineration or discharge.
• the operation of grinding hazardous waste has the advantage of reducing the volume of this waste by about 80% and giving them an unrecognizable appearance. This significant reduction in volume allows a considerable saving on the cost of transport.
• the efficiency of sterilization or decontamination is improved.
• the crushed foods are static and form a compact mass in the autoclave preventing sterilization at heart.
• the present invention aims to provide a solution to the problems mentioned above by proposing a process capable in a single operation of decontaminating infectious waste wastes that can be solid and / or liquid, whatever their origin and nature.
• the invention provides a method the implementation of which does not involve any chemical substance or pollutant discharge into the atmosphere or the water table, and which is accomplished by means of a reliable equipment, compact, autonomous, to lower cost, environmentally friendly low energy consumer.
• Such equipment can advantageously be located on the waste production sites, eliminating the transport of this waste and the associated risks of contamination, and can operate automatically, as desired in a discontinuous or continuous process.
• the invention relates to a method of the type indicated in the preamble, characterized in that to perform the second so-called decontamination step, the unrecognizable grinds are loaded in at least one decontamination compartment, they are advanced inside. of the compartment enters at least one inlet port and an outlet port by means of advance, the inlet and outlet ports are closed in a hermetic manner, pressurized water vapor is injected at inside said decontamination compartment to bring these unrecognizable grinds to a predetermined temperature, under a pressure predetermined and for a predetermined duration to obtain their decontamination, and in that during the decontamination phase, moving said feed means alternately in one direction and then in the other direction to stir, stir and decompact unrecognizable grinders in order to decontaminate them to heart.
• This process makes it possible to obtain complete sterilization of this solid and / or liquid waste, allowing their disposal as household waste without any risk and at a lower cost.
• the decontamination compartment is preheated by injecting water vapor into a double wall surrounding this compartment.
• the waste to be treated is discharged into a hopper whose inlet is closed hermetically sealed and whose outlet is in communication with grinding means, and at least during the discharge of the waste to be treated. in the hopper, at least the air contained in the hopper, the grinding means and the decontamination compartment is sucked up and filtered before discharging the purified air into the atmosphere.
• the opening of the hopper is preferably enslaved to the loading of the container and its tilting over the hopper to dump the waste to be treated.
• the pressure of water vapor contained in the decontamination compartment is evacuated and the decontaminated liquid waste can be discharged into an evacuation circuit. or eliminate them completely by causing them to evaporate.
• the unrecognizable and decontaminated grinders are transferred into at least one evacuation compartment to cool them before being discharged for disposal as household waste.
• the evacuation compartment can be cooled by injecting coolant into a double wall surrounding the compartment.
• the invention also relates to equipment of the kind indicated in the preamble, characterized in that the decontamination zone comprises at least one decontamination compartment provided with an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice hermetically closed by an inlet door and an exit door respectively, at least one steam injection nozzle for decontaminating said ground materials, and advance means arranged to move the unrecognizable ground materials, in the loading phase, in one direction, from the inlet orifice to the outlet orifice, and in the decontamination phase, alternately in one direction and in the other direction.
• These means of advance may advantageously comprise at least one worm coupled to reversible drive means.
• the decontamination compartment is disposed substantially horizontally, surrounded by a double wall supplied by at least one steam injection nozzle, and comprises at least one pressure relief valve.
• the grinding zone comprises at least one hopper provided with an inlet sealed by an inlet door and an outlet in communication with grinding means, this grinding zone comprising at least one air suction nozzle connected to an air treatment circuit comprising at least one absolute filter, and at least one steam injection nozzle.
• the evacuation zone advantageously comprises at least one evacuation compartment provided with advance means arranged to displace the decontaminated unrecognizable bricks from said decontamination compartment to an outlet orifice.
• This discharge compartment may be surrounded by a double wall supplied by at least one nozzle for injecting a cooling liquid.
• the discharge compartment is advantageously inclined with respect to the horizontal so that its outlet orifice is located above its inlet orifice, this inlet orifice being connected to the wastewater discharge circuit.
• the equipment comprises gripping means arranged to take at least one waste container to be treated and tilt over the hopper to dump said waste.
• the opening of the hopper inlet door is advantageously controlled by the gripping means.
• the decontamination zone may comprise at least two decontamination compartments arranged in parallel and fed alternately by the grinding zone to allow said equipment to operate in a continuous process.
• This equipment preferably comprises a controller arranged to control its operation, namely the drive means, the means for opening and closing said doors, the steam, water coolant and evacuation or cooling systems. elimination of decontaminated liquid waste, automatically.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the processing equipment according to the invention
• FIG. 2 is a plan view of the treatment equipment
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the equipment of FIG. 2, and
• FIGS. 4A to 4F show the operation of the gripping means of the equipment of FIG. 2.
• the waste treatment equipment 1 with infectious risks comprises at least one grinding zone A arranged substantially vertically to facilitate the descent of the waste 1 by gravity, followed by a zone of decontamination B arranged substantially horizontally, and then an evacuation zone C inclined upwards to facilitate the flow of condensates to a wastewater discharge circuit.
• Each zone A, B and C is separated from the next by watertight doors to confine the waste at each stage and to avoid the bacteriological propagation.
• the arrangement of these different areas as illustrated can be modified according to the configurations of the site to be developed for example.
• the equipment 10 may comprise two decontamination zones B arranged in parallel and alternately fed by the same grinding zone A equipped with a door or a valve for directing the waste. ground to either decontamination zone.
• each decontamination zone B is followed by its own evacuation zone C, or the two decontamination zones B are connected to the same evacuation zone C.
• This configuration makes it possible to work according to a continuous process or masked time, namely that while one of the decontamination zones B is working (phase of sterilization of the ground material), the other decontamination zone B can be prepared, and vice versa.
• the grinding zone A comprises at least one hopper 11 or the like, provided with an inlet sealed by a sealed inlet door 12 and an outlet in communication with grinding means 13 arranged under the hopper 11.
• the entry door 12 is pivotally mounted and actuated by one or more pneumatic cylinders 14 or any equivalent means.
• the control of the cylinders 14 can be controlled by gripping means 60 as described below and arranged to automatically discharge the waste to be treated 1 in the hopper 11 from storage containers 5.
• the grinding means comprise a grinder 13 of a known type provided with a rotor equipped with a plurality of knives and a pusher 15 controlled by a pneumatic cylinder 15 'or the like arranged to push the waste to be treated 1 against the mill 13 to shred them and turn them into crushed pieces 2 said unrecognizable or unidentifiable, that is to say having for example a maximum particle size between 20 and 30 mm controlled by a sieve 16.
• the grinding zone A comprises at least one air suction nozzle 17 connected to the atmosphere by an air treatment circuit 18 comprising at least suction means (not shown), a pilot valve 19 and an absolute filter 20 of the activated carbon type or the like to reject an air s ain.
• This grinding zone A is also connected to a steam generator 21 by at least one steam injection nozzle 22 and a valve 23 for sterilizing the waste to be treated 1 contained in the grinding zone A in case of operating incidents on the mill.
• the decontamination zone B comprises at least one decontamination compartment 30 in the form of a tube, provided with an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice equipped with seals and sealed by a door input 31 and an exit door 32 respectively, each actuated by one or more pneumatic cylinders 33, 34 or any equivalent means.
• the entrance door 31 forms a guillotine arranged to cut the possible waste to be treated 1 blocked in the entrance.
• the outlet door 32 may be equipped with a movable baffle
• the decontamination compartment 30 comprises at least one and in the example shown three steam injection nozzles 24 distributed over the length of said tube and fed from the steam generator 21 by a valve 25 for sterilizing the unrecognizable ground material 2 contained in the compartment 30. It is connected to a pressure relief valve comprising in particular a trap 40, a valve 41 and a pressure switch 56.
• the tube decontarnination compartment 30 comprises a double wall provided with at least one steam injection nozzle 26 also fed from the steam generator 21 by a valve 27 located upstream of the valve 25.
• a circuit return of the steam condensates connects the double wall of the compartment 30 to the inlet of the steam generator 21 by a purger 28, a filter 29 and a buffer tank 37.
• a drain valve 38 is provided the output of the generator 21.
• the steam generator 21 is preferably supplied by the water network F through a water softener (not shown) to maintain the steam circuit scale deposits.
• This decontamination compartment 30 comprises feed means in the form of a worm 35 extending along the tube and arranged to move unrecognizable ground material 2, in a direction along the arrow E, of the inlet port 31 to the outlet port 32, during the loading phase and the unloading phase.
• At least the outlet orifice 32 comprises a deflector (not shown) movable between a passive position where the deflector is moved away from the outlet orifice allowing the closing of the exit door and an active position where the deflector covers the inner wall. the outlet orifice to protect the seals at least during the unloading phase of the compartment.
• the worm 35 is actuated by reversible drive means 36, such as an electric motor or the like, in order to be able, during the treatment phase, to move the unrecognizable shreds 2 alternately in one direction and then in the other following direction.
• arrow F to brew, stir and decompact.
• This decontamination compartment 30 may be connected to an evacuation circuit 39 of the decontaminated liquid waste 4 via at least one valve 54, a pump 55 and a reservoir 43 in which the decontaminated liquid waste 4 can be cooled before being discharged into the wastewater network via a pipe 44.
• This tank 43 may be replaced by cooling coils distributed under the decontamination compartment 30 or any equivalent means. In the case where one chooses to completely eliminate the liquid waste decontaminated by evaporation, this exhaust circuit 39 is not mandatory.
• the evacuation zone C comprises at least one evacuation compartment 50 in the form of a tube, provided with an inlet orifice, in communication with the outlet orifice of the decontamination compartment 30 through the door outlet 32, and an outlet port 51 open to be able to evacuate deconaminated unrecognizable ground material 3 to a container, a bucket, or the like, for disposal in conventional circuits of household waste treatment.
• the evacuation compartment tube 50 may comprise a single wall or a double wall. In this case, the double wall is provided with at least one injection nozzle (not shown) of a cooling liquid such as water added with glycol or not, fed from the water network by a valve (not shown).
• This discharge compartment 50 comprises feed means in the form of a worm 52 extending along the tube and arranged to move decontaminated unrecognizable ground material 3 from the decontamination compartment 30 to the orifice output 51 of the discharge zone C.
• This worm 52 is actuated by simple drive means 53, such as an electric motor or other. Of course, any other means of advance is possible, such as a conveyor, a conveyor belt or the like.
• the low point of this evacuation compartment 50 is connected to the evacuation circuit 39 of the decontaminated liquid waste 4 by the intermediate of at least one purger 46 and a filter 47, connected in parallel to the valve 54 and the pump 55 connected to the decontamination compartment 30, or directly to the wastewater network.
• the processing equipment 1 comprises a compressed air circuit 47 for supplying the different pneumatic cylinders 14, 15 ', 33, 34 which actuate the different doors 12, 31, 32 sealed and the pusher 15, this compressed air circuit. being supplied by a compressor 48 and a valve 49.
• the watertight doors can be actuated by other means than by pneumatic cylinders, such as motors, servomotors, hydraulic cylinders, etc.
• the advantage of choosing a pneumatic supply lies in its autonomy from the mains in the event of a mains failure.
• the processing equipment 10 also comprises gripping means 60 whose operation is illustrated by FIGS. 4A to 4F.
• They comprise a cradle 61 arranged to receive a container 5 of standard type in which are collected the waste 1 to be treated.
• This cradle 61 is connected to the entry door 12 of the hopper 11 by a hinge 62 and slides in guide rails 63 extending vertically and whose shape defines the trajectory of the cradle 61.
• This trajectory comprises a first rectilinear stroke vertical movement followed by a second curvilinear race to mount the container 5 and then tilt over the hopper 11 to dump the waste 1.
• the displacement of the cradle 61 is obtained by the pneumatic cylinders 14 extending between the frame 64 of the equipment 10 to the entrance door 12 of the hopper 11.
• FIG. 4 A the cradle 61 is at the bottom and the hopper 11 is closed.
• FIG. 4B the pneumatic cylinders 14 are actuated, the entry door 12 begins to open causing the vertical rise of the container 5 placed in the cradle 61.
• FIG. 4C the entry door 12 continues to 'open and the container 5 has arrived at the top and leaves its vertical rectilinear trajectory.
• FIG. 4D the further opening of the entry door 12 brings the cradle 61 into the curved zone of the guide rails 63 which will cause the container 5 to tilt over the hopper 11 completely open to dump waste 1 to be treated as in Figures 4E and 4F.
• the return of the cradle 61 to the initial position is obtained by the gradual re-entry of the pneumatic cylinders 14 causing the automatic closing of the entry door 12.
• the operation of the treatment equipment 10 according to the invention is preferably controlled by an automaton arranged to automatically control the drive means, the means for opening and closing the doors, the steam circuits, the compressed air, coolant, evacuation or evaporation of decontaminated liquid wastes, etc. depending, of course, on control parameters and controlled parameters.
• This automaton can be managed remotely by conventional teletransmission means.
• the equipment 10 as described operates batchwise, but can operate continuously if it is equipped with a second decontamination compartment 30, fed by the same hopper 11 and the same mill 13 by means of a double door arranged to alternatively select the compartment 30 to be loaded while the other compartment 30 is in the decontamination phase.
• the evacuation zone C may comprise a single evacuation compartment 50 fed by means of a double door arranged to open alternately one or the other decontamination compartment 30, or two evacuation compartments 50 arranged in parallel.
• This equipment operates according to the method described below which comprises at least the following steps to carry out a cycle of decontamination of waste 1 at risk of infection:
• the air suction circuit 18 is started to suck the air contained in the hopper 11, the grinder 13 and the decontamination compartment 30, purify by means of at least one absolute filter 20 before rejecting the clean air into the atmosphere, the pusher 15 of the mill 13 and the inlet door 31 of the decontamination compartment 30 being open while the outlet door 32 of this compartment remains closed,
• the hopper 11 is loaded by discharging a waste container 1 to be treated by means of the gripping means 60 which open the inlet door 12 of the hopper 11 simultaneously with the rise of the container 5 and its tilting over the hopper 11, the air suction circuit 18 remains active to prevent contamination of the work area,
• the grinder 13 is started up and the waste to be treated is pushed against the mill by the pusher 15 to grind them to obtain unrecognizable grinds, in accordance with the standards in force, this particle size being controlled by a sieve 16 which allows the transfer of the unrecognizable grinds 2 in the decontamination compartment 30 through the entry door 31,
• the worm 35 is started up to advance the unrecognizable grinds 2 coming from the grinder 13 inside the decontamination compartment 30 in the direction of the exit door 32 that has remained closed.
• this compartment has been previously heated to a temperature of about 100 ° C by injecting water vapor into its double wall by means of the injection nozzle 26, the valve 27 and the steam generator 21 , in order to preheat unrecognizable grinds 2 before treatment,
• the decontamination treatment is carried out by injecting pressurized water vapor into the interior of the decontamination compartment 30 via the injection nozzles 24, the valve 25 and the steam generator 21, to bring these ground unrecognizable 2 at a predetermined temperature including 135 ° C to 150 ° C, under a predetermined pressure including 3.5 to 4.5 bars, and for a predetermined period including 15 to 20min, to obtain their decontamination, the duration sterilization is counted from the moment when the ground material 2 at the inlet and the outlet of the compartment have substantially the same temperature (detected by unrepresented temperature probes),
• the worm is rotated 35 alternately in one direction and then in the other direction to stir, stir and decompact the unrecognizable grinds in order to decontaminate them to heart.
• the speed of rotation of the worm 35 is relatively low and for example equal to about 4 rpm.
• a third step called evacuation of unrecognizable and decontaminated ground materials 3 with a view to eliminating them as household waste during which: when the sterilization cycle is completed, the pressure relief valve formed by the purger 40, the valve 41 and the pressure switch 56 is opened, where the decontaminated liquid waste 4 is evacuated by the evacuation circuit 39 in the direction of the network of wastewater after cooling,
• this compartment can be cooled by injecting a cooling liquid which is advantageously water, added with glycol or not, into a double wall by means of at least one injection nozzle and a valve from of the water supply circuit, where the condensates are evacuated in the wastewater network, where the unrecognizable and decontaminated ground materials 3 are discharged, directly or after a predetermined residence time to lower their temperature, in a container, a compactor or the like for disposal as household waste.
• a cooling liquid which is advantageously water, added with glycol or not
• a new sterilization cycle can be performed. If the mill 13 were to be blocked by some non-millable waste, such as large section metal scrap, a safety automatically stops the mill 13 (detection at its rotational torque for example), and the controller controls the valve 23 for injecting water vapor under pressure through the injection nozzle 22 inside the hopper 11 and the mill 13 to decontaminate the non-milled waste 1 at a predetermined temperature, in particular from 135 ° C.
• the entrance door 31 of the decontamination compartment 30 closes to confine the area to be decontaminated in the hopper and the mill 13.
• This processing equipment 10 as described can be sized to handle both small and large quantities of waste 1 for example 100 to 500 kg h. It can thus be placed directly on waste production sites such as clinics, hospitals, etc. at a lower cost, in a standard room, and without requiring qualified staff.
• This equipment can also be designed to be placed in a transportable container whose dimensions are approximately 7x2,5x2,7m to equip mobile hospitals of the army, humanitarian organizations or the like. In the container version, it can easily be moved by a service company that offers waste treatment on demand, or simply located outside the clinic if it does not have available space. Since it operates with little energy from available energy sources such as water, air and electricity, it does not require complex infrastructure and is adaptable to all situations. Its design allows it to be used in any type of environment without particular precautions since has all the necessary filtration devices to prevent any contamination.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Apparatus For Disinfection Or Sterilisation (AREA)

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• 2009
  • 2009-12-14 FR FR0958965A patent/FR2953726B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2010
  • 2010-12-14 EP EP10812886.9A patent/EP2585119A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2010-12-14 WO PCT/IB2010/003226 patent/WO2011073763A1/fr active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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