Gasification and Melting Technology for Medical Waste - October 2000

Gasification and Melting Technology for Medical Waste - October 2000

The gasification and melting technology for medical waste developed by Sumitomo Metal Industries is specifically designed for the treatment of used syringes and bloodstained medical waste from hospitals and other facilities. Conventionally, medical waste has been treated by high-temperature incineration, but this method has been problematic because of the generation of dioxins and toxic substances. In response, SMM introduced a new gasification and melting furnace and developed a technology that gasifies the waste and melts it at a higher temperature, thereby almost completely decomposing and removing toxic substances such as dioxins and heavy metals.

This technology can also be used for raw garbage, contaminated soil, and incinerated ash, enabling efficient treatment of special wastes that are difficult to deal with at ordinary waste treatment facilities. Specifically, the waste is heated to a temperature of approximately 800 to 900°C during the gasification stage, and the treatment temperature in the melting furnace reaches 1,200°C or higher. This ensures that hazardous substances that cannot be fully processed in a typical incinerator are also completely treated.

This gasification and melting technology may be applied not only to medical waste, but also to general waste treatment in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka, with a particularly high treatment capacity of 50 tons of medical waste per day. Furthermore, this technology not only reduces emissions of hazardous substances, but the melted residue can be reused as slag, which will be used as a material for road construction.