During the activities of various medical institutions like hospitals, private clinics, or laboratories, a large amount of medical waste accumulates, which poses a great danger to the environment and people.
Unfortunately, some methods of processing and disposal of medical waste are not suitable from both economic and environmental viewpoints. This is due to the fact that medical waste can be infected and contaminated with various biologically active products that harm people and the entire environment. However, nowadays there are many highly technological companies like medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX have changed the way medical waste is taken care of by using advanced equipment for disposal of medical waste.
Disposal equipment classification
To destroy the medical waste, medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX use several methods of disposal:
- waste incineration;
- thermochemical disinfection;
- chemical disinfection;
- steam sterilization.
Depending on the method used, medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX select equipment for the disposal of medical waste.
Thermal incinerators
An incinerator for the destruction of medical waste is a special machine in which waste of various classes can be disposed of by incineration. The recycling process in such machines takes place at temperatures from +800ºС to +1200ºС, which is achieved in the process of fuel combustion in the furnace.
The standard design of an incinerator consists of the following elements:
- combustion chambers;
- secondary afterburner for products;
- primary combustion;
- systems for the removal of gases into the environment.
Medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX collect medical waste in special bags, then manually load it into the combustion chamber. Their ignition is carried out using a burner that runs on liquid or gas fuel. In order to guarantee an optimal combustion process, air is supplied to the furnace under high pressure.
Depending on the design solution and the specific model, the amount of waste loaded into the combustion chamber can range from 50 to 1000 kg.
Thermochemical disinfectors
This waste decontamination equipment provides for two stages of disposal. The first stage implies the shredding of medical waste and the second stage involves the treatment of waste with special disinfectants at high temperatures.
Equipment of this type include:
- sterilization chamber;
- filtering unit;
- electronic control unit.
Due to the high degree of grinding, the area of contact with the recyclable garbage increases, and high temperatures act as a catalyst for the disinfection process with gaseous chlorine and its oxide.
Taking into account the high explosiveness and toxicity of the gases released during the operation of the heat exchanger, such disinfectors are equipped with special filter-ventilation systems. The productivity provided by this type of recycling equipment is 100 … 130 liters per hour of operation. The volume of recyclable waste after processing is reduced several times. Medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX often use this type of equipment because it’s very efficient.
Chemical disinfectors
This medical waste disposal equipment is similar in operation to the thermochemical disposal equipment. The only difference is that disinfection is carried out without heating. With the help of mechanical destruction, the waste is crushed and then treated with chemically active substances, which destroys all biologically active substances.
The crushed waste particles after destruction will have a size of 4mm – 10 mm, which ensures effective disinfection of the entire volume of waste being disposed of. Depending on the design of the disinfector, the volume of its working chamber can vary from 20 to 100 liters, which will allow processing up to 85 – 90 liters of waste in one cycle. The duration of one processing cycle can be 15 – 20 minutes.
To date, there are many different machines for the rapid and efficient disposal of medical waste. With the help of this equipment medical waste disposal services San Antonio TX and other services can get rid of hazardous waste without polluting the environment and without exposing a person to various diseases.
