The medical waste treatment industry is undergoing a profound technological transformation. The traditional incineration technology is under pressure due to its high carbon emissions, while new non-incineration technologies such as microwave sterilization, autoclave , and frictional heat sterilization technologies are emerging as the main force leading the industry towards a green transformation. The challenges faced by hospital managers are no longer "how to meet the standards", but "how to choose the best among the best". For decision-makers, breaking through the conceptual fog and returning to the fundamental logic of sterilization mechanism, operational costs, and environmental protection performance is the key to making wise investments. This blog will detail the differences among the three technologies.
I. Treated material characteristics:
FHT material after treatment is:
1) Sterile
2) Unrecognizable
3) Dry
4) Reduced in weight
5) Reduced in volume
1)Sterile material:
FHT: guarantees sterilization heating the environment by friction with a peak of 150°C and using the humidity of the treating material and the air that enters inside the cell.
Hybrid autoclaves: the sterilization of the material is guaranteed by use of high temperature steam ( over121°C).
Hybrid microwaves: it is not able to evaporate water at temperatures above100°C, therefore, it not able to sterilize.
2)Unrecognizable material:
FHT: The heat is produced by the friction of the material.
Source of energy: electric power of the motor, which makes the blades rotate quickly and shred the material at high speed to produce sufficient heat for sterilization.
Hybrid Autoclave:The main energy consumption is used to generate steam which sterilizes the material.To avoid high energy consumption the shredder is powerful enough but it is able to spin only at low speed. The shredder is generally a dual shaft with hooked cutters. Passing only once through the cutters, the waste comes out very coarse. In some autoclaves the shredder has rotating blades and therefore,requires more power to shred material. In some cases,for example, textile waste,a sterilization cycle without shredding is provided. Cutters of Shredder are not capable to shred perfectly after some months. Shredded parts are mostly bigger than 5 cm if there is not a screen underneath. Moreover, the use of a screen will make the shredding time last more than twice as long.
Also, physiological liquids are easily recognizable in the out coming material due to the inability of the liquids to evaporate. (see p.3)
Hybrid microwaves:The main energy consumption is used to generate the microwaves which implement disinfection.The shredder does not guarantee a fine shredding of the material. Contact time must be more than an hour for disinfection.
3)The humidity of the material:
FHT: The humidity of the outcoming material is not more than10%
Hybrid Autoclaves: Given the method of sterilization(by steam),the material absorbs water during the treatment.
The drying system, which is a vacuum pump activated after the cooling of the material inside the vessel, involves additional costs. It is used by a few producers and still it is not able to produce dry flock.
Therefore, the material discharged is wet and smelly. The high level of moisture prevents material from long-term storage because the moist environment is favorable for the development of bacteria and mold. The content of water is possibly higher than %10 of total weight of the final residue.
Hybrid Microwaves : the material is dried during the process with the heat
emitted by microwaves. to reach a water content of less than 5% an additional drying process will be necessary so, an extra investment and further power consumption must be considered.
4)Weight loss:
FHT: The weight of the discharged material is equal to roughly 70% of the initial weight.
Hybrid Autoclaves: Due to the high humidity formed during the treatment with steam, the weight of the out coming material is equal or superior to the initial weight.
The increase in weight has a negative impact on transportation costs.
Hybrid Microwaves : the material is dried during the process with the heat emitted by the microwaves.
5)Reduction in volume :
This feature is present in all the material treated with systems equipped with shredders.
II. Shredding systems:
The dual shaft with hooked cutters system(used by the hybrid autoclaves)is prone to jamming. Since the shredder usually divides the vessel in two parts, the jamming can create two kinds of problems.
In autoclaves where the diffusion of water vapor in the upper part of the vessel is not provided, the operator is forced to enter in contact with infective material by manually removing it from the vessel. In the systems providing steam sterilization in the upper part of the vessel as well this risk is surely minor but still present.
Also, sterilization of non- shredded material is complicated by the inability of steam to penetrate plastic bags or sealed boxes containing the waste.
In case of a jam, the out-coming material extracted from the top without passing through the shredder, does not correspond to the characteristics of being unrecognizable.
III. Installation requirements:
FHT: connections to: water, electricity, sewage and ventilation
Hybrid Autoclaves: connection to: water, electricity, sewage, ventilation, gas, and in some cases a reinforced slab is required.
IV. Maintenance:
According to FHT technology the replacement of filters, blades and other consumables are carried out by the operator.
The WD 05 and WD 15 models are easily repairable and do not require special equipment like lifts, presses and similar).
The blades of the hybrid autoclaves are part of the shredder located in the central part of the vessel which works under pressure. After the replacement it is mandatory to verify the correct function of the vessel underpressure. Therefore,the blade replacement must be performed only by qualified maintenance operators. The shredder is integrated with vessel and difficult to remove which makes the maintenance or repair very complicated. A service engineer from the manufacturer is needed, additional lifting equipment must be provided and a minimum stop for 2 days is too be considered. It leads to high costs of maintenance.
V. Safety:
One of the biggest security risks associated with hybrid autoclave technology is related to the damage of the vessel. If malfunction occurs in a high-pressure environment a risk of pollution due to the escape of contaminated vapors from the vessel arises. In the worst case an explosion is possible which leads to a high risk of damage to people and objects.
There is a high risk of failure of the cycle due to the jamming of the shredder leading to the manual discharge of untreated material(see above).
The application of safety conditions are very strict related to pressured vessels regulation. Welding and pressure tests are mandatory every year at hospitals by third party registration companies. All the insulations and covers must be disassembled during this period. Also, all the surfaces of the pressured vessel must be checked according to limits of friction.
FHT: is a high safety technology
The vessel works in slight depression during the cycle which excludes any environmental pollution risks and the explosion of the vessel.
The high-power shredder with rotating blades ensures continuous operation with little chance of jamming.
Hybrid Autoclaves: The application of safety conditions are very strict related to pressured vessels regulation. Welding and pressure tests are mandatory every year at hospitals by third party registration companies. All the insulations and covers must be disassembled during this period. Also, all the surfaces of the pressured vessel must be checked according to limits of friction.
In the field of medical waste disposal, incineration was once the mainstream method, but it could never escape the drawbacks of high energy consumption and high emissions. However, when we examine microwave sterilization, autolcave, and friction heat technology together, the trend becomes increasingly clear: friction heat technology is gradually emerging as the leading solution in this transformation. It does not rely on external heat sources and does not require boilers or steam systems. It can achieve deep sterilization solely through the conversion of mechanical energy into thermal energy. The concept of energy reuse runs through the entire process. In terms of sterilization effect, friction heat, through the dual effects of instantaneous temperature rise and physical shearing, can effectively inactivate various pathogenic microorganisms, including heat-resistant spores. The indicators meet the standards. For operators, this system is compact in structure, flexible in start-up and shutdown, and has a high degree of automation. It saves money (low energy consumption, less labor) and saves effort (simple maintenance, low failure rate), truly transforming medical waste treatment from "passive response" to "active efficiency enhancement".
More importantly, the direction represented by the friction heat technology - low carbon, high efficiency, and resource utilization - perfectly aligns with the underlying logic of the global medical industry's green transformation. When environmental compliance is no longer the end goal but the starting point, the comprehensive advantages of this technology will be recognized and accepted by an increasing number of people.
If you are looking for a technological path that balances the present and the future for hospitals, disease control centers, or disposal enterprises, friction heat is a choice worth considering first. It may not be the only option, but it is likely to be the answer that leads you to avoid unnecessary detours. Our passion for this industry ultimately comes down to the judgment and selection of every technical detail - and this time, choosing friction heat means choosing the trend.
