IL301044A - Garbage processor - Google Patents

Description

FOOD WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM BACKGROUND The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.

Wet food waste is a universal problem among households, business establishments and the like. Food scraps make up between 10-20 percent of household waste. The food scraps create public health, sanitation, and environmental problems at each step of the process. The internal storage poses problems with clogged pipes, ineffective storage in the garbage bin, and inefficient transport to sewage systems. Once the scraps have been transported, the process of getting rid of the waste poses a new set of problems. Either the scraps are disposed of in landfills or are burned in incinerators. The former option means utilizing more space in landfills which are already at high capacity. Also, when the waste decomposes and rots in the landfill, the liquid waste contaminates clean water sources used both for drinking and for watering crops. The burning of food scraps, although eliminates the problems mentioned beforehand, is energy consuming, especially when the scraps are wet. The most common solution to wet food waste in the United States is a garbage disposal unit. The design is to finely grind up food scraps that are placed in the sink drain. The devices are generally electrically powered and operated with a switch by the sink. The unit itself is installed under the kitchen sink between the sinks drain and trap. The idea is to shred the food waste into pieces less than about 2 millimeters in diameter so that they can safely move through the plumbing to treatment facilities. Other types of garbage disposal units are water powered. These utilize an oscillating piston with blade attached to grind the food. The idea behind the water powered disposal system is to handle fibrous waste while being more energy efficient.

These disposal units are not a perfect solution since fibrous waste can slip through the blades and cause clogs in the plumbing. The waste is often not shredded to its full capacity, leaving larger pieces of waste in the pipes. The technology of the disposal systems can only handle a small amount of fibrous waste. Large amounts of fibrous waste, like small fruit and vegetables peels, render the system ineffective. Before the electric powered disposal systems is turned on smaller food pieces can escape the blades and move on to the plumbing. Water powered disposal systems are slower and less effective at grinding the food waste. This is just the beginning of the problem with food waste. The problems continue with the disposal systems themselves. There is much focus on the disposal systems located in the sink without focus on what happens to the food scraps afterwards. As mentioned above, most of the waste either gets stuck in the plumbing or ends up in a landfill. Not all buildings are equipped with pipes that can handle fibrous waste in any amount. The scraps that get stuck in the pipes lead to corroding of the pipes and pipes bursting. The scraps that do arrive at the treatment plant are processed with much difficulty. The processing is not possible in locations with a low water supply. Treating the food waste requires large amounts of water and energy that is more costly than any energy that has been created. SUMMARY One aspect of a waste disposal system is to not only grind the waste, but to condense it. A disposal device is used to compress the waste into a small pellet. The pellet is then removed and shipped to a treatment facility. It may be shipped, or it may be dropped in a specified box. Once at the treatment facility, the pellet will be examined for its content. The content will be sorted into components such as toxicity, biodegradability, composability, calorically and more.

According to one aspect, a garbage disposal system is provided, comprising: a grinding unit; a filtration system, and a compression system; wherein the garbage disposal system is configured to allow: grinding the garbage in the grinding unit; the filtration system receiving ground garbage from the grinding unit and separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage, and the compression system receiving the solid garbage and compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet. According to another aspect, a garbage disposal system is provided consisting of: a grinding unit; a filtration system, and a compression system; wherein the garbage disposal system is configured to allow: grinding the garbage in the grinding unit; the filtration system receiving ground garbage from the grinding unit and separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage, and the compression system receiving the solid garbage and compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet. In some embodiments the garbage disposal system further comprises a reserves unit, wherein the garbage disposal system is further configured to allow the reserves unit to: receive solid garbage leftovers, and add the leftovers to at least one second pellet. In some embodiments of the garbage disposal system, the at least one first pellet is amenable for receipt and analysis at a treatment facility.

In some embodiments of the garbage disposal system the treatment facility comprises: pellets receiving unit; a pellet analysis unit capable of receiving pellets from the receiving unit and analyzing each received pellet for one or more of: calorific content; toxicity, and humidity, and a pellet sorting unit capable of: receiving analyzed pellets and sending each pellet to a destination selected according to analysis results from analysis of the pellet. In some embodiments the garbage disposal system further comprises a disinfecting unit, wherein the garbage disposal system is further configured to allow the disinfecting unit to: receive and disinfect the solid garbage, and/or receive and disinfect the at least one first pellet. According to another aspect a pellet is provided, formed in a garbage disposal system. In some embodiments the pellet comprises ground garbage. In some embodiments the pellet comprises disinfectant. In some embodiments the pellet is disinfected. In some embodiments the pellet further comprises one or more of: at least one flow agent and at least one anticaking agent.

In some embodiments the at least one flow agent and/or anticaking agent is selected from one or more of a group consisting of: a stearate salt; diatomaceous earth, silica, and silicates. According to another aspect a process of disposing of garbage is provided, the process comprising: grinding the garbage; filtering the ground garbage; separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage; compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet. According to yet another aspect a process of disposing of garbage is provided, the process consists of: grinding the garbage; filtering the ground garbage; separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage; compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet. In some embodiments the process of further comprises: receiving solid garbage leftovers, and adding the leftovers to at least one second pellet. In some embodiments the process further comprises receiving the at least one first pellet and analyzing the at least one pellet at a treatment facility. In some embodiments the process further comprises disinfecting the solid garbage, and/or disinfecting the at least one first pellet. In some embodiments the disinfecting is selected from one or more of a group consisting of: short-wavelength light radiating; exposing to a gas selected from one or more of: ozone, oxygen, chlorine, and nitrogen; exposing to an oxidant or reducer; sub-pressure; heating, and freezing. [0001] It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein and to achieve the benefits/advantages as described herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing above and/or at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present document. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity of presentation. The figures are listed below. Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of the internal mechanism of a disposal system embodiment wherein a hydraulic press is attached to a blade piston used to grind the food waste. Figure 2 shows a schematic drawing of an embodiment in which a pellet is removed from a disposal system with a small, latched door on the side of the system. Figure 3 shows a schematic drawing of the internal mechanism of a water-powered disposal system wherein water both turns a blade and is used to compress the hydraulic press. Figure 4 shows a schematic drawing of components of tan hydraulic press in the compression chamber of an embodiment of a disposal system. Figure 5 shows an embodiment where there is a filter within the system and the pellet is processed externally. It will be recognized that some or all of the figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration. The figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more implementations with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

DETAILED DISCUSSION According to one aspect, a garbage disposal system is provided, comprising: a grinding unit; a filtration system, and a compression system; wherein the garbage disposal system is configured to allow: grinding the garbage in the grinding unit; the filtration system receiving ground garbage from the grinding unit and separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage, and the compression system receiving the solid garbage and compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet. We refer to a "first pellet" because we also refer to a "second pellet" that is made subsequent to the first one and that includes leftovers from the material used to make the first pellet. in typical embodiments the size of the pellets is a set size for a given garbage disposal system; moreover, in preferred embodiments the size will be standardized so that various households and businesses can use the same sorting facility. Thus in general solid garbage material that is processed at any time, for example a batch of rubbish placed by user after finishing a meal, will leave an excess of material after making the first pellets. The excess material can be stored and added to new solid garbage to make second pellets. The garbage disposal system may be equipped with means to determine how many pellets can be made from a solid garbage batch and stop the manufacture of pellets after making same amount, or other means to determine when to stop compressing [when the material doesn’t suffice to produce a pellet] that will occur to the skilled in the art. Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment merely as one example, that comprises a hydraulic press mechanism coupled with a water powered waste disposal system. The press would be located inside the disposal system below blades. The waste [not shown] could enter the disposal system through a drain [not shown] into the grinding chamber as described in 1.2 . The blades in the disposal system will be activated by a turn-style like mechanism inside an oscillating piston when the water is on, as depicted in 3.2 . This embodiment could also use a motor as a backup power source if the water pressure is not sufficient to power the machinery. Once the food waste is finely ground, typically below 2mm diameter, it would fall through the blades and into the compression chamber. The sink water would fall directly into the piston to not only power the blades, but the press as well. Pressure of running water from the sink could act on the hydraulic press to at least help compress the waste. This action is represented by Figures 3 and 4 , where 3.1 represents the running water, 3.2 represents the blades, 3.3 represents tubing for the press that is powered by the water, and 3.4 represents the press itself. Figure 4 is a more detailed depiction of the press. The press would compress the pellet into a shape that is easy to work with, as depicted in 4.3 . Another embodiment for this method and system would be to create an asymmetrical channel through which the waste can separately flow through to the compression chamber. An altogether different embodiment would comprise a filtration system in the disposal system. The waste is finely ground and then filtered so that only liquid would be able to pass through into a sewage or other liquid treatment facility connected to the disposal system. This treatment would be accomplished by using a fine filter that can let water and minute suspended particles through but not larger and solid food waste. This filter could be like a coffee filter, with a sturdy wire frame holding it. The filter could be biodegradable and reusable. The depiction of this system with a filter is referenced in figure 5, where 5.1 represents the blade in the grinding chamber and 5.2 represents the filter.

Once the filter becomes full, it would be removed from the disposal system under the sink. Some embodiments may have a form of combined filter/compressor. At present we believe that the last embodiments operate most efficiently, but other embodiments described herein are also satisfactory. For example, the compressor may include a wedge that is pushed against a porous wall in a receptacle, wherein the porous wall serves as a filter. This compressor may further be a combined with a chopping mechanism, such as in a meat grinder. Liquid in this case would be removed during the compression itself. Some embodiments may include other combinations and/or components to separate liquids and compress the solids, for example a filter may perform initial removal of liquid followed by further removal by compression, heating, freezing etc. Freezing may be a suitable method for removal of liquids where the disposal system is positioned at cold locations, and conversely heating may be suitable for hot locations. The heating/freezing may also help to disinfect the pellets and/or solid garbage. In some embodiments a separate countertop mechanism is used to compress the ground food waste into the desired pellet, like the mechanism of a coffee machine. Alternatively, the food waste itself could be diverted to the treatment plant to be compressed at the plant as well as sorted. Another embodiment comprises a narrowing chamber for the food waste to go through. The food waste is ground up with the blades and when it is small enough to slip through the blades, the smaller pieces pass through the tubing until they are too large and only the water can go through to the piping system. The spinning of the blades would spin the narrowing chamber, functioning like a centrifuge. The contents would be spun down until the water is entirely removed and all that remains is the solid waste. From there the disposal system could include as an integral component the compressing system, or as discussed above, in alternative embodiments the solid garbage could pulled out to be compressed in a separate device. Perhaps the simplest embodiment of an improved disposal system would be just to modify the treatment process itself without modifying the disposal system. The treatment center itself would receive the waste through the pipes and process it there utilizing the same method of compressing the waste into a pellet form. Once the food waste is compressed into the pellet, the pellet will either be sent to or picked up by the treatment center. In the treatment center, the contents must be examined and sorted based on their contents. The contents that are biodegradable will be composted. Those that are toxic can be optionally analyzed, and disposed of in a safe manner such as mixing it with specific bacteria that can safely break it down. Those that are high in calories can be used for fertilizer or even as material for heating households [thereby being completely recycled back at the source as a closed system]. The sorting method for the pellets may comprise utilizing simple and cheap tests to sort out the contents. The pH level of the contents can be easily and cheaply attained to help gain some more context of the waste content. A simple way to assess the contents of the pellet would be to add water back into a small sample of the pellet and examine the contents. Most food waste scraps are biodegradable and can be used as compost. Chemical solvents can also be utilized to reproduce biodegradability conditions to break down the waste that can be broken down. Alternatively, a small-scale microscope can help identify different parts of the food waste. An embodiment of this method could be utilizing filter paper to sort between the different types of waste. This sorting could eliminate the larger chunks of food waste in the pellet that can be easily sorted based on content. The fibrous waste that is identified in the food waste pellet can be used as biofuel to power the treatment facility, thus creating a self-sustaining system.

In some embodiments the solid garbage is compressed up to about 10 times. In some preferred embodiments the compression in size is up to about 100 times. In some embodiments the compression in size is up to about 100o times, dependent upon the type of garbage.

The pellets can be traded for money, credits etc., for example at a collection machine nearby the disposal system, and/or at the disposal facility. In some embodiments the value of the pellets may be classified in accordance with their value as determined by the analysis of the content. However, in some embodiments the pellets may simply be placed in a bin next to the house/building to be disposed of as regular but compact and dry waste. In some embodiments the pellets may be packed in a packaging, for example cheap, biodegradable, environmentally friendly, frangible and combustible, such as peat-based cellulose textiles. The packaging may include an identifier of their source, e.g., the disposal system or household/business at which they were made, to automatically attribute the pellets to their source, and for example give credits to the source for the pellets. The user may also receive guidance or alerts following an analysis of problematic pellets such as those found to include toxic materials, which might indicate a health hazard to the user and/or to the environment. The disposal system is mainly for food scraps, which are a serious environmental problem which is only growing. However, from the point of view of the solid garbage component in food scraps, this is expected to pose little toxicity liability and thus the amount of rejected pellets is expected to be low. In some embodiments the pellet further comprises one or more of: at least one flow agent and at least one anticaking agent. These agents may help to remove intact the pellets from the disposal system, a keep them from crumbling en-route to their final 30 destination, and also on the other hand preventing them from forming large clusters hard to break. The usage of the disposal system, at least until it becomes popular, can be further encouraged by subsidies, advertising etc., and may be standardized and/or regulated by for example approval by an environmental agency/office, or local standard. Such introduction may precede a ban on disposing unprocessed [by this disposal system] food scraps into the public sphere such as landfills, local rubbish tips, and sewage systems. In some embodiments the disposal system can be retrofitted to disposal systems, for example by adding components to the installed grinding unit. In other embodiments the disposal system may be integral, for example it may be provided as part of a kit including a sink and/or sewage system. Underlined and/or italicized headings and subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit the subject technology, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretation of the description of the subject technology. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various implementations described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the subject technology. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description. It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. "About" is defined as ±25% of the stated value.

Claims (18)

1. A garbage disposal system comprising: a grinding unit; a filtration system, and a compression system; wherein the garbage disposal system is configured to allow: grinding the garbage in the grinding unit; the filtration system receiving ground garbage from the grinding unit and separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage, and the compression system receiving the solid garbage and compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet.

2. A garbage disposal system consisting of: a grinding unit; a filtration system, and a compression system; wherein the garbage disposal system is configured to allow: grinding the garbage in the grinding unit; the filtration system receiving ground garbage from the grinding unit and separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage, and the compression system receiving the solid garbage and compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet.

3. The garbage disposal system of claim 1, further comprising a reserves unit, wherein the garbage disposal system is further configured to allow the reserves unit to: receive solid garbage leftovers, and add the leftovers to at least one second pellet.

4. The garbage disposal system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one first pellet is amenable for receipt and analysis at a treatment facility.

5. The garbage disposal system of claim 4, wherein the treatment facility comprises: pellets receiving unit; a pellet analysis unit capable of receiving pellets from the receiving unit and analyzing each received pellet for one or more of: calorific content; toxicity, and humidity, and a pellet sorting unit capable of: receiving analyzed pellets and sending each pellet to a destination selected according to analysis results from analysis of the pellet.

6. The garbage disposal system of claim 1, further comprising a disinfecting unit, wherein the garbage disposal system is further configured to allow the disinfecting unit to: receive and disinfect the solid garbage, and/or receive and disinfect the at least one first pellet.

7. A pellet formed in a garbage disposal system.

8. The pellet of claim 7, comprising ground garbage.

9. The pellet of claim 7 or 8, comprising disinfectant.

10. The pellet of claim 7 or 8, wherein the pellet is disinfected.

11. The pellet of claim 7 or 8, further comprising one or more of: at least one flow agent and at least one anticaking agent.

12. The pellet of claim 11, wherein the at least one flow agent and/or anticaking agent is selected from one or more of a group consisting of: a stearate salt; diatomaceous earth, silica, and silicates.

13. A process of disposing of garbage, the process comprising: grinding the garbage; filtering the ground garbage; separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage; compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet.

14. The process of claim 13, consisting of: grinding the garbage; filtering the ground garbage; separating the ground garbage into liquid garbage and solid garbage; compressing the solid garbage into at least one first pellet.

15. The process of claim 13, further comprising: receiving solid garbage leftovers, and adding the leftovers to at least one second pellet.

16. The process of claim 13, further comprising receiving the at least one first pellet and analyzing the at least one pellet at a treatment facility.

17. The process of claim 13, further comprising disinfecting disinfect the solid garbage, and/or disinfecting the at least one first pellet.

18. The process of claim 17, wherein the disinfecting is selected from one or more of a group consisting of: short-wavelength light radiating; exposing to a gas selected from one or more of: ozone, oxygen, chlorine, and nitrogen; exposing to an oxidant or reducer; sub-pressure; heating, and freezing.