Systems and methods for producing engineered fuel feed stocks from waste material

Abstract

Systems and methods for producing engineered fuels from solid waste material are described herein. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a waste stream at a multi-material processing platform and separating the waste stream to remove non-processable waste and marketable recyclables. The method further includes conveying processable materials to a material classification system and incorporating additives to produce an engineered fuel from the constituents of the waste stream.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of producing an engineered fuel feed stock from a processed MSW waste stream, the method comprising:
 combining a first waste stream and an additive;   compressing the first waste stream and the additive to form a densified intermediate material;   grinding the intermediate material;   mixing the ground intermediate material with a second waste stream; and   compressing the intermediate material and the second waste stream to form an engineered fuel feed stock.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first waste stream includes hard plastic. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first waste stream contains less than about 40 wt. % soft plastic. 
     
     
         4 .- 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first waste stream contains less than about 20 wt. % fiber. 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first waste stream contains less than about 20 wt. % soft plastic and fiber in combination. 
     
     
         12 .- 16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first waste stream is substantially free from glass, metals, grit, and noncombustibles. 
     
     
         18 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the densified intermediate material has
 a plastic content of between about 10 wt. % and about 50 wt. %; and   an additive content of between about 90 wt. % and about 50 wt. %.   
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the additive is a chemical additive. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the chemical additive is a sorbent. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the sorbent is formulated to adsorb at least one of the air pollutants including sulfur dioxide (SO2), sulfur trioxide (SO3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrochloric acid (HCl), mercury (Hg), non-Hg metals and other hazardous air pollutants. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the additive is at least one of sodium sesquicarbonate (Trona), sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, zinc ferrite, zinc copper ferrite, zinc titanate, copper ferrite aluminate, copper aluminate, copper managanese oxide, nickel supported on alumina, zinc oxide, iron oxide, copper, copper (I) oxide, copper (II) oxide, limestone, lime, Fe, FeO, Fe 2 O 3 , Fe 3 O 4 , iron filings, CaCO 3 , Ca(OH) 2 , CaCO 3 .MgO, silica, alumina, china clay, kaolinite, bauxite, emathlite, attapulgite, coal ash, egg shells, organic salts (such as calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), calcium acetate (CA), calcium formate (CF), calcium benzoate (CB), calcium propionate (CP) and magnesium acetate (MA)), urea, calcium bromide, sodium bromide, ammonium bromide, hydrogen bromide, ammonium sulfate, Lignosulfonate and Ca-montmorillonite. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second waste stream includes at least one of hard plastic, soft plastic and fibers. 
     
     
         30 .- 36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the second waste stream contains at least about 80 wt. % fiber. 
     
     
         38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the second waste stream contains at least about 95 wt. % soft plastic and fiber in combination. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the second waste stream is substantially free from glass, metals, grit, and noncombustibles. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the second waste stream has
 a soft plastic content of between about 0 wt. % and about 20 wt. %; and   a fiber content of between about 80 wt. % and about 100 wt. %.   
     
     
         43 .- 197 . (canceled) 
     
     
         198 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the engineered fuel feed stock includes about 5 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the additive and about 50 wt. % to about 95 wt. % combustible material. 
     
     
         199 . The method of  claim 198 , wherein the combustible material includes fibers and plastics. 
     
     
         200 . The method of  claim 199 , wherein the combustible material includes about 60 wt. % to about 80 wt. % fiber and about 24 wt. % to about 40 wt. % plastics. 
     
     
         201 . The method of  claim 198 , wherein the additive is a sorbent.