System and method for volumetric reduction of medical textile and waste material

Abstract

Embodiments of system and method of sanitizing medical waste are described. In one embodiment, there is a the method including, introducing the medical waste into a heating zone, heating the medical waste to a sanitizing temperature thereby melting a majority of the medial waste, moving the medical waste via gravity into a cooling receiver, cooling the medical waste by cooling the cooling receiver; and removing the medical waste from the cooling receiver.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for treating medical waste, the system comprising:
 a heating zone comprising a first and second heated surface inclined downwardly towards each other;
 wherein the first heated surface is inclined to a vertical axis of between 25 degrees and less than 45 degrees, and wherein the second heated surface is inclined to the vertical axis between 25 degrees and less than 45 degrees; 
 wherein the first and the second heated surfaces are configured to be heated to a temperature in the range 275 C to 296 C; 
 wherein the first and second heated surfaces are coated with a non-stick material; 
   a channel defined by the lower ends of the first and second heating surfaces,
 wherein the heating temperature profile of the first and preferably second heated surfaces increases towards the passage; 
   an insulator coupled to the lower end(s) of the first and second heated surfaces for reducing the rate of cooling of the first and preferably second heated surfaces;   a receiver disposed below the channel,
 a heating element coupled to the receiver for heating the contents of the receiver; 
 a cooling system coupled to the receiver for cooling the contents of the receiver. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and preferably the second heated surfaces are arranged to be heated to a temperature substantially at 285 C. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and the second heated surfaces are coupled to at least one heating element. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and the second heating surfaces are formed of aluminum. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the non-stick material is Teflon. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , including a monitoring and recording controller for monitoring and recording first and preferably second heated surface temperatures and preferably dwell time of melted material transferred through the passage. 
     
     
         7 . A method of sanitizing medical waste, the method comprising:
 introducing the medical waste into a heating zone;   heating the medical waste to a sanitizing temperature thereby melting a majority of the medial waste;   moving the medical waste via gravity into a cooling receiver;   cooling the medical waste by cooling the cooling receiver; and   removing the medical waste from the cooling receiver.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising dwelling the medial waste in the heating zone for a predetermined time of less than 30 minutes. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising heating the medical waste to a temperature of 260 C. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising heating the medical waste in the cooling receiver to maintain fluidity of the medical waste. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the medical waste is partially made from the group consisting of sterile wrap, blue wrap, Kimguard™, and DuraBlue™. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the medical waste is partially made from the group consisting of polymeric textile material and/or polypropylene. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising monitoring and recording data associated with the heating zone. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the data comprises the group consisting of temperatures within the heating zone and dwell time of the medical waste within the heating zone. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising sending the data to a networked device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising exhausting and filtering vapors from the heating zone. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising preventing access to the heating zone or the receiver for a predetermined amount of time or until the temperature in the heating zone reaches a predetermined temperature.