Patent ID: 7183453

Claim:
A method for digesting or neutralizing undesirable materials such as organic tissue or hazardous or biohazardous agents or regulated medical waste by subjecting them to an alkaline hydrolysis cycle and generating a sterile resultant suitable for conventional sanitary disposal or land application, said method compromising the steps of: (a) providing a closed reaction vessel coupled to a heating-cooling means; (b) receiving the undesirable materials within said vessel; (c) determining the weight of the undesirable materials received within said vessel and generating weight output data; (d) controlling the operation of the system, including considering the weight output data and determining the appropriate amounts of water and alkaline compound to introduce into the interior of the vessel; (e) after step (d), introducing an alkali compound within the interior of said vessel in an amount based on the weight output data; (f) after step (d), introducing water within the interior of said vessel in an amount based on the weight output data; (g) after steps (e) and (f), heating the vessel interior to a first temperature and pressurizing the vessel to a pressure greater than about 1.0 atmosphere for a sufficient duration to produce a safely disposable resultant; (h) during steps (e) and (f), initiating a vacuum within the vent of the vessel to remove waste odors while filling the vessel; (i) during steps (e) and (f), mixing the contents of the vessel to enhance the interaction between the alkali compound and the undesirable materials; (j) after step (g), cooling the interior of the vessel to a predetermined temperature after the digestion cycle has run; (k) after step (j), venting the interior of the vessel upon the vessel reaching a predetermined second temperature and the pressure reaching about one (1) atmosphere; (l) during step (k), creating a vacuum within the interior of the vessel to remove odor from therewithin; (m) during step (k), balancing the vacuum so created to prevent said vacuum from interfering with the draining of the vessel; (n) after step (m), draining the liquid solution portion of the vessel contents from the interior of the vessel; and (o) after step (n), rinsing the interior of the vessel to remove any remaining solution residue from any solid remains of the undesirable materials.