Application
Report 19
The Problem...
Paper and Plastic Disposal
A major manufacturer
of desktop and portable personal computers, Compaq Computer Corporation
of Houston, Texas, has experienced substantial growth since its startup
in 1982. Along with growth, came the problem of managing the handling
and disposal of a tremendous amount of paper and plastic packing materials.
At first, this material was hauled to a local landfill at an annual
cost of about $240,000. As production increased, this cost rose rapidly.
The Solution...
An Automated Waste Handling System
A decision was made to design an automated waste handling system and
burn the wastes on site using the heat produced as an energy source
for heating and cooling. The system included a BloApCo 3-shaft 66" wide
heavy-duty shredder, steel belt conveyors, a pyrolytic incinerator,
a 500-HP waste heat steam boiler with a 300-HP backup hot water boiler
and an absorption chiller. In operation, waste material is loaded into
42 cu. ft. containers at four sites throughout Houston and trucked to
the incinerator. The entire system is designed to operate without human
intervention once a waste container is rigged to the infeed conveyor.
The contents of the containers are hydraulically ejected onto the steel
conveyor belt. The waste moves slowly along the belt to the heavy-duty
BloApCo shredder where the material is efficiently reduced to easily
burned pieces through BloApCo's patented "Pierce-and-Tear" shredding
action. Following the shredder, the material is batched and fed onto
a second conveyor which feeds the incinerator. The scrap is burned in
two stages, reaching a final temperature of about 1800 to 2000 degrees
F. Exhaust gases from the incinerator are routed to the 500-HP boiler.
This boiler also is connected to the chiller which air conditions the
main facility. Operating around the clock, the system handles approximately
12 tons/day of general manufacturing and office waste. With the combined
disposal and energy savings, it was projected that the system would
pay for itself within 3 1/2 years.
