Organic waste collection and treatment station

Abstract

To provide an organic waste collection and processing station that can continue to operate even when power from an electric power company is stopped due to disaster, an accident, or the like.SOLUTION: An organic waste collection and processing station 1 is configured to process organic waste that has been individually brought in to be collected, so as to recover recyclable resources. The organic waste collection and processing station 1 is installed within a predetermined site 14. The organic waste collection and processing station 1 comprises: a collection section 2 that collects the organic waste having been brought in; a processing section 3 that processes the organic waste having been collected in the collection section 2 so as to recover the recyclable resources; a storage section 4 that stores the wastewater obtained from the organic waste after being processed in the processing section 3; a methane fermentation device 5 that produces methane gas using the wastewater stored in the storage section 4 as a fermentation raw material; and a methane gas power generation device 6 that generates electricity using the methane gas as fuel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an organic waste collection and processing station that collects organic waste such as food waste and used paper diapers, processes the collected organic waste, and recovers recyclable resources. [Background technology]

[0002] Food waste discarded at nursing homes, hospitals, ordinary households, small childcare facilities, etc. is placed in garbage collection bags designated by local governments as general combustible waste, and is collected by garbage collection companies after being collected at garbage collection points designated by each local government. The food waste collected by garbage collection companies is incinerated at garbage incineration plants. In recent years, disposable diapers and other hygiene products have become widely used for people receiving care and infants. After using such disposable diapers and other hygiene products, they are collected as general combustible waste and incinerated at garbage incineration plants.

[0003] The food waste and used sanitary products are both organic waste, which can lead to the growth of bacteria and produce odors. Nursing homes and hospitals store organic waste in specific locations within the facility and have it collected by waste collection companies, but in ordinary households and small-scale childcare facilities, organic waste is disposed of in trash bins along with other combustible waste, placed in garbage collection bags designated by the local government, and disposed of at local government garbage collection points. It is then collected by garbage collection companies that make regular visits and transported to incineration plants for incineration.

[0004] Nursing homes, hospitals, and other facilities are able to set up storage areas for organic waste, so bacterial proliferation does not pose any particular problems and the odor does not affect the environment. However, in ordinary households and small-scale childcare facilities, organic waste, especially used disposable diapers, is stored within the home or facility along with other combustible waste, and bacterial proliferation can cause bacteria to adhere to the surrounding area of the storage area within the home or facility, or can fill the home or facility with an odor.

[0005] For this reason, when organic waste is stored within homes or facilities, it is stored in sealed bags made of vinyl or other materials and collected as general combustible waste at local garbage collection sites. The organic waste collected at the garbage collection sites is collected by garbage collection companies along with other combustible waste and transported to incineration plants for incineration. In addition, organic waste discarded by nursing homes, hospitals, etc. is also ultimately transported to incineration plants for incineration. For this reason, when organic waste is incinerated together with combustible waste at incineration plants, fuel costs and other expenses increase, resulting in higher incineration costs.

[0006] Meanwhile, in recent years, it has been proposed in Patent Document 1 and elsewhere to recover recyclable resources such as pulp and plastics by decomposing used sanitary products, which are organic waste. When recovering recyclable resources such as pulp and plastics from used sanitary products, decomposing a relatively large amount of used sanitary products reduces processing costs and increases the amount of recovered recyclable resources, so it is better in terms of cost and recovery efficiency to decompose used sanitary products from nursing homes and hospitals, where used sanitary products are discarded every day. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-034268 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] While nursing homes and hospitals can set up storage areas and the odor of organic waste does not affect the outside, in ordinary households and small-scale childcare facilities, disposing of organic waste, especially used sanitary products such as used disposable diapers, in trash bins for burnable waste as described above can cause problems such as bacterial growth and odor. For this reason, it is necessary to dispose of organic waste at a garbage collection site or incinerator as soon as possible.

[0009] Furthermore, in recent years, it has become widely known that the common practice of collecting PET bottles, used oil, and bottles and cans and turning them into recycled resources can reduce the cost of incineration and lessen the impact on the natural environment. However, organic waste such as food waste and used sanitary products generated by ordinary households is not being collected and turned into recycled resources in this way.

[0010] Therefore, in Patent Application No. 2022-51926, the applicant proposed a used sanitary product collection and processing station (diaper station) that would be installed on a designated site and would process used sanitary products brought in individually and collected, and recover recyclable resources.

[0011] By bringing used sanitary products (used disposable diapers) individually to the diaper station set up on designated premises, used sanitary products discarded by ordinary households, small childcare facilities, etc. can be processed at any time and recyclable resources can be collected. Used sanitary products discarded by nursing homes, hospitals, etc. can also be brought there and processed and recyclable resources can be collected.

[0012] However, because the diaper stations purchase electricity from electric power companies to process used sanitary products within the diaper stations, they face the problem of having to stop operation in the event of a power outage caused by a disaster, power accident, etc. Therefore, when a power outage occurs due to a disaster, power accident, etc., they are unable to continue processing the used sanitary products that are discarded every day from hospitals, nursing homes, ordinary households, etc.

[0013] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an organic waste collection and treatment station that can continue to operate even if power from the power company is cut off due to a disaster, accident, or the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a first aspect of the present invention is a collection and treatment station for organic waste that treats used sanitary products that are individually brought in and collected, and recovers recyclable resources, the collection and treatment station for organic waste being installed in a predetermined site along a public road, where people can enter through an entrance and bring in the used sanitary products individually, and the station comprises a collection section that collects the used sanitary products that are brought in, a treatment section that treats the used sanitary products collected in the collection section and recovers recyclable resources, a storage section that stores wastewater after the used sanitary products are treated in the treatment section, and a methane fermentation device that generates methane gas using the wastewater stored in the storage section as a fermentation raw material, The electricity used to process the used sanitary products in the organic waste collection and processing station is generated using the methane gas as fuel. A methane gas power generation system that generates electricity and a collection and processing station for said organic waste. To dispose of the used sanitary products and a rainwater tank or well that supplies the water to be used. The methane fermentation apparatus is characterized by comprising: an adjustment tank to which the effluent from the storage section is supplied and which performs pretreatment to prepare the effluent as a fermentation raw material; a fermentation tank to which the effluent that has been pretreated in the adjustment tank is supplied and which produces the methane gas; and a gas storage tank to store the methane gas produced in the fermentation tank.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the power generation system further comprises a power storage device that stores the electric power generated by the methane gas power generation system.

[0017] The present invention 3 In this aspect, the methane fermentation apparatus is characterized by comprising a digestive fluid storage tank that stores the digestive fluid discharged from the fermentation tank, and a residue recovery unit that recovers solid residue from the digestive fluid in the digestive fluid storage tank.

[0018] The present invention 4 The aspect (2) is characterized in that it includes a fertilizer producing section that produces liquid fertilizer from the digested fluid in the digested fluid storage tank and produces solid fertilizer from the residue in the residue recovery section. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, the organic waste collected in the collection section is treated in the treatment section to recover recyclable resources, and the resulting effluent is stored in the storage section. The effluent stored in the storage section is used as a fermentation raw material to generate methane gas in a methane fermentation device. The generated methane gas is used as fuel to generate electricity in a power generation device, and the generated electricity can cover the power required at the organic waste collection and treatment station.

[0020] This allows the organic waste collection and processing station to continue operating even if power from the power company is cut off due to a disaster or accident. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an organic waste collection and treatment station according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an organic waste collection and treatment station according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a diaper station according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a diaper station according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows a separator and a take-out / feeding device of a diaper station according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows the separator and the removal and feeding device, where (a) is a side view showing the state in which used disposable diapers on the transport cart are being put into the separator, and (b) is a side view showing the state in which plastic diapers and other items in the separator are being discharged onto the transport cart. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows the separator with the inlet closed by the door, (a) being a side view and (b) being a front view. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows the separator with the opening and closing door opening the inlet, (a) being a side view and (b) being a front view. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a methane fermentation device in a diaper station according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] An embodiment of an organic waste collection and treatment station according to the present invention will be described below. The organic waste collection and treatment station 1 of this embodiment is installed on a specified site 14, and treats organic waste brought in and collected from specified individuals, recovering recyclable resources. Examples of organic waste in this embodiment include food waste discharged from food factories, commercial facilities, cafeterias, school lunches, etc., used disposable diapers discharged from hospitals, nursing homes, ordinary households, etc., and wastewater and residue discharged from sewage and sewage treatment plants. [Organic waste collection and processing station]

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the organic waste collection and treatment station 1 comprises a collection section 2 that collects organic waste brought in, a treatment section 3 that treats the organic waste collected in the collection section 2 and recovers recyclable resources, a storage section 4 that stores the wastewater after the organic waste is treated in the treatment section 3, a methane fermentation device 5 that produces methane gas using the wastewater stored in this storage section 4 as a fermentation raw material, and a power generation device 6 that generates electricity using the methane gas as fuel.

[0024] The organic waste collection and treatment station 1 of this embodiment also includes a power storage device 7 that stores the electricity generated by the power generation device 6. Furthermore, the organic waste collection and treatment station 1 also includes a fertilizer production unit 8 that produces fertilizer from the digestate discharged from the methane fermentation device 5 and the residue after methane fermentation, and a recyclable resource storage unit 9 that stores the fertilizer produced by the fertilizer production unit 8 and recyclable resources that are not used as fermentation raw materials after treatment in the treatment unit 3 but are recyclable.

[0025] The organic waste collection and treatment station 1 of this embodiment is also provided with a rainwater tank 10, a well 11 for pumping groundwater, and, as shown in Figure 2, a solar power generation device (solar panel) 13 that is placed on the roof of a building 12 of the organic waste collection and treatment station 1 and generates electricity using sunlight.

[0026] When processing organic waste generated from food factories, commercial facilities, cafeterias, school lunches, etc., the collection section 2 that collects the food waste to be processed is equipped with a device that removes only the food waste from the sealed plastic bags that contain the food waste, and a crushing device that crushes the sealed plastic bags containing the food waste as they are. The food waste that has been removed from the sealed bags or crushed together with the sealed bags is sent to the processing section 3.

[0027] The treatment unit 3 is equipped with a washing device that washes the food waste collected or crushed in the collection unit 2, a sterilization device that sterilizes bacteria adhering to the food waste, a dechlorination device that removes chlorine components contained in the food waste, and a sorting device that removes non-organic materials such as vinyl, glass fragments, and iron pieces. The wastewater containing the food waste treated by these washing devices, sterilization devices, demineralization devices, and sorting devices is stored in the storage unit 4. The wastewater containing the organic waste, namely the food waste, stored in the storage unit 4 is sent to a methane fermentation unit 5.

[0028] The methane fermentation apparatus 5 is equipped with an adjustment tank, fermentation tank, gas storage tank, digester liquid storage tank, and residue recovery section (not shown). The temperature and hydrogen ion concentration of the effluent, which is organic waste and the food waste contained in the effluent, are adjusted for methane fermentation in the fermentation tank, and the adjusted effluent is sent to the fermentation tank. In the fermentation tank, anaerobic methanogens decompose the organic effluent to produce gases such as methane gas. The generated methane gas is stored in the gas storage tank. The methane gas stored in the gas storage tank is sent to a methane gas power generation apparatus (power generation apparatus) 6, where it is combusted to generate electricity. The electricity generated by the power generation apparatus 6 is stored in a power storage apparatus 7.

[0029] The digestive fluid in the fermenter is discharged into a digestive fluid storage tank, and the solid residue in the fermenter is collected in a residue collection unit. These digestive fluids and residues are sent to a fertilizer production unit 8 to be used as raw materials for liquid and solid fertilizers. Non-organic vinyl, glass fragments, and iron pieces separated from the food waste in the treatment unit 3 are further separated into plastic, glass, and iron and stored in a recyclable resource storage unit 9. [Diaper Station]

[0030] Next, an organic waste collection and processing station (hereinafter referred to as "diaper station") 15 that processes used disposable diapers, which are used sanitary products, as organic waste and recovers recyclable resources will be described.

[0031] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a predetermined site 16 is located along a public road 17, and visitors enter the site 16 through an entrance 19 provided in a guardrail 18, dispose of used disposable diapers 20 at a diaper station 15, and then exit onto the public road 17 through an exit 21. For this reason, a parking space 22 is provided on the site 16 on the public road 17 side of the diaper station 15. It is also possible to dispose of used disposable diapers at the diaper station 15 using a so-called drive-through method.

[0032] Diaper station 15 is formed as a well-sealed building 23 erected within site 16, and building 23 is provided with a collection section 24, a treatment section 25, and a storage section 26. It also includes a methane fermentation device 27 that produces methane gas using the wastewater stored in storage section 26 as a fermentation raw material, and a methane gas power generation device (power generation device) 28 that generates electricity using methane gas as fuel.

[0033] Diaper station 15 of this embodiment also includes a power storage device 29 that stores the electricity generated by methane gas power generation device 28. Diaper station 15 also includes a fertilizer production section 30 that produces fertilizer from the digestive fluid discharged from methane fermentation device 27 and the residue left after methane fermentation, and a recycled resource storage section 31 that stores the fertilizer produced by fertilizer production section 30 and recycled resources that are not used as fermentation raw materials after processing in processing section 25 but are recyclable.

[0034] Furthermore, the diaper station 15 is equipped with a rainwater tank 32, a well 33 for pumping groundwater, and, as shown in Figure 4, a solar power generation device (solar panel) 34 that generates electricity using sunlight and is located on the roof of the building 23 of the diaper station 15. Also, on the parking space 22 side of the building 23, there is provided a reception window 35 for processing procedures when disposing of used disposable diapers 20, and an insertion port 36 through which used disposable diapers 20 to be discarded are disposed of within the diaper station 15. Used disposable diapers 20 are inserted into the collection section 24 within the diaper station 15 from this insertion port 36.

[0035] The collection section 24 includes a collection box 37 having an inlet 36 through which the brought-in used paper diapers 20 are dropped, and an extracting and sending device 38 that takes out the used paper diapers 20 dropped into the collection box 37 and sends them to the processing section 25.

[0036] Used disposable diapers 20 collected in predetermined collection bags with good sealing properties are placed into the collection box 37. Dissolvable collection bags are used as the collection bags. For example, Solbag (registered trademark, manufactured by Aicello Co., Ltd.) made of a water-soluble film whose main component is PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) is used as the dissolvable collection bag. This dissolvable collection bag is made from a film that dissolves in warm water (e.g., 70°C or higher) and has the property of being impermeable to bacteria, viruses, etc. Used disposable diapers 20 are stored in this dissolvable collection bag and collected.

[0037] When disposing of used disposable diapers 20 at the diaper station 15, dissolvable collection bags may be distributed free of charge to the person disposing of the used disposable diapers 20, or if the person brings in used disposable diapers 20 that have been collected in other plastic bags, a staff member at the diaper station 15 may replace the used disposable diapers 20 with dissolvable collection bags at the reception desk. The used disposable diapers 20 collected in the dissolvable collection bags are sent to a transport cart 40 of an extracting and feeding device 38 provided adjacent to the collection box 37. When sending the used disposable diapers 20 onto the transport cart 40 of the extracting and feeding device 38, the collection box 37 may be tilted manually, or the collection box 37 may be tilted automatically to send the used disposable diapers 20 onto the transport cart 40.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the take-out / feeding device 38 is formed by a transport vehicle 40 having a belt conveyor 39 attached to the bottom thereof, and an elevator device 41 that raises and lowers the transport vehicle 40. When the transport vehicle 40 is positioned at the bottom, used disposable diapers 20 (collected sealed in dissolvable collection bags) collected by the collection box 37 are sent onto the belt conveyor 39 at the bottom of the transport vehicle 40. When the used disposable diapers 20 are sent onto the belt conveyor 39 of the transport vehicle 40, the elevator device 41 raises the transport vehicle 40 to the upper side, as shown in FIG. 6(a). From this state, the belt conveyor 39 operates to transport the used disposable diapers 20 into the separator 42 of the inclined processing unit 25, and the used disposable diapers 20 are placed into the separator 42 of the processing unit 25.

[0039] The processing section 25 includes a separator 42 that separates the used disposable diapers 20 removed from the collection section 24 into the materials that make up the disposable diapers using a processing liquid, a pulp recovery device 43 that recovers pulp from the waste liquid that has been separated from the solids in the separator 42, a sorter 44 that separates pulp and plastic from the solids that have been separated from the waste liquid in the separator 42, and a plastic-pulp recovery device 45 that recovers plastic pulp that has been separated from pulp by the sorter 44 and has plastic attached to it.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 7(a), 7(b), 7(a), and 7(b), the separator 42 includes a box-shaped housing 46, which includes an outer body separating tank, an inner body separating tank rotatably disposed within the outer body separating tank, and a drive unit for rotating the inner body separating tank. A circular inlet 47 is provided on one side of the housing 46. A circular door 48 is provided on one side of the housing 46 for opening and closing the inlet 47. A guide plate 49 curved along the shape of the lower side of the inlet 47 is also provided on the outside of the inlet 47 on one side of the housing 46. As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 46 is tiltable between an inlet position where the inlet 47 side is inclined so that it is positioned above the floor 50, and an outlet position where the inlet 47 side is in contact with the floor 50 and the other side of the housing 46 is inclined so that it is positioned above the floor 50.

[0041] Then, with the housing 46 tilted to the loading position, the used disposable diapers 20 on the belt conveyor 39 of the take-out and feeding device 38 are loaded into the inner body separation tank of the separator 42 through the guide plate 49. At this time, the transport cart 40 is positioned at an upper position by the lifting device 41. After the used disposable diapers 20 are agitated with the treatment liquid in the separator 42 and decomposed, the pulp and plastic remaining as solid matter in the inner body separation tank are discharged onto the transport cart 40 with the housing 46 tilted to the discharge position.

[0042] After the separator 42 agitates the used disposable diapers 20 together with the treatment liquid for decomposition processing, the effluent is sent to the pulp recovery device 43, where the pulp in the effluent is recovered. After the pulp is recovered by the pulp recovery device 43, the effluent is sent to the polymer removal device 51 in the storage unit 26 to remove polymers from the effluent, and then sent to the effluent storage unit 52 where it is stored. The solid matter, pulp and plastic, extracted from the separator 42 by the extraction and feeding device 38 is sent to the sorter 44.

[0043] The sorting machine 44 is provided with an outer body sorting tank, an inner body sorting tank rotatably installed within the outer body sorting tank, a dry air supply unit that supplies dry air into the inner body sorting tank, and a drive unit that rotates the inner body sorting tank. The solid pulp and plastics taken out from the separator 42 by the take-out and feed device 38 are dried in the inner body sorting tank, and the pulp and plastics are separated.

[0044] In this case, the plastic is sent from separator 42 to sorter 44 with pulp attached to its surface, so the pulp on the surface of the plastic is peeled off by blowing dry air onto it while rotating the inner sorting tank. Once the pulp and plastic are separated by sorter 44, the pulp is captured by the dry air passing through a filter, and the plastic with pulp attached to its surface (Pla-Pal) is collected by Pla-Pal collection device 45.

[0045] The pulp recovered by the pulp recovery device 43 and the plastic pulp recovered by the plastic pulp recovery device 45 are collected and stored as recyclable resources in the recycled resource storage section 31. Furthermore, the wastewater from which polymers have been removed by the polymer removal device 51 is stored in the wastewater storage section 52 and then sent to the methane fermentation device 27, where it is used as a fermentation raw material for methane fermentation.

[0046] 9, the methane fermentation apparatus 27 includes an adjustment tank 53 to which the effluent from the effluent storage section 52 of the storage section 26 is supplied and which performs pretreatment to prepare the effluent as a fermentation raw material, a fermentation tank 54 to which the effluent pretreated in the adjustment tank 53 is supplied and which produces methane gas, and a gas storage tank 55 to which the methane gas produced in the fermentation tank 54 is supplied. The methane fermentation apparatus 27 also includes a digestion liquid storage tank 56 to which the digestion liquid discharged from the fermentation tank 54 is supplied, and a residue recovery section 57 to which the residue, which is solid matter, is recovered from the digestion liquid in the digestion liquid storage tank 56.

[0047] The methane-rich gas produced in fermenter 54 is sent to methane gas power generation system 28 and used for gas power generation and biogas power generation. For example, a cogeneration system incorporating a Stirling engine as a unit is used for gas power generation. The electricity generated by methane gas power generation system 28 is stored in power storage device 29. The electricity stored in power storage device 29 is used as the electricity required to operate diaper station 15.

[0048] The electricity stored in power storage device 29 is used to drive separator 42, the sorter, methane fermentation device 27, fertilizer production unit 30 that produces fertilizer, and also to operate diaper station 15. In this case, the electricity generated by solar power generation device 34 is also stored in power storage device 29, and the electricity generated by methane gas and solar power can cover all the electricity needed to operate diaper station 15. This eliminates the need to purchase electricity from the power company, and any surplus electricity generated by methane gas and solar power can be sold to the power company.

[0049] The recycled pulp removed from diaper station 15 is reused as a raw material for disposable diapers, cardboard, and other purposes. The plastic pulp removed from diaper station 15 is used as a material for solid fuel, or the plastic is further removed and pelletized and remolded into trash cans, etc. In this case, the plastic from which the pulp has been removed from the plastic pulp collected at diaper station 15 may be molded into sealable collection bags for storing used disposable diapers 20, or other plastic products.

[0050] Additionally, within the building 23 of the diaper station 15, materials necessary for treating used disposable diapers 20, such as chemicals for producing the treatment liquid and equipment for maintaining the device, are stored, and a work space 58 is provided where work for maintaining the diaper station 15 is carried out. Furthermore, within the building 23, a management room 59 for maintaining the diaper station 15 is provided, and management personnel are stationed there 24 hours a day. A reception window 35 is also provided at the reception desk of the management room 59 on the parking space 22 side.

[0051] Next, we will explain how to use the diaper station 15, how to process and collect used disposable diapers 20 within the diaper station 15, and how the diaper station 15 operates. Used disposable diapers 20 after use in ordinary households, small-scale daycare centers, etc. are disposed of within the household or daycare facility in airtight collection bags, such as plastic bags, or airtight collection boxes. The used disposable diapers 20 collected in the collection bags or boxes are transported by vehicle or on foot to the site 16 of the diaper station 15. When using a vehicle, the vehicle enters the site 16 through the entrance 19 of the site 16 and parks in a parking space 22.

[0052] Next, the person offers to dispose of the used disposable diapers 20 accumulated in the collection bag or collection box at the reception desk of the diaper station 15. At the reception desk, the collection bag or collection box is checked to see if anything other than used disposable diapers 20 has been mixed in, and if it is confirmed that it contains only used disposable diapers 20, the person simply places the used disposable diapers 20 they brought with them into the collection box 37 through the drop-in slot 36. After placing the used disposable diapers 20 through the drop-in slot 47, the person leaves by vehicle or on foot through the exit 21 onto the public road 17. In this way, used disposable diapers 20 from ordinary households and small-scale daycare centers can be disposed of at the diaper station 15.

[0053] Used disposable diapers 20 after use in ordinary households or small-scale childcare facilities can be disposed of by individually bringing them to the diaper station 15, but used disposable diapers 20 after use in hospitals, nursing care facilities, etc. can also be brought to this diaper station 15. In this case, the amount of used disposable diapers 20 after use in hospitals, nursing care facilities, etc. will be large, but the amount of used disposable diapers 20 disposed of by hospitals, nursing care facilities, etc. per day is roughly set. Therefore, used disposable diapers 20 from hospitals and nursing care facilities can be disposed of within the processing capacity of the diaper station 15.

[0054] In addition, by installing a diaper station 15 on the premises of a large hospital or nursing facility, it is possible to process used disposable diapers 20 from the hospital or nursing facility, as well as to process used disposable diapers 20 brought in from ordinary households, small childcare facilities, etc.

[0055] Used disposable diapers 20 placed into the collection box 37 through the insertion port 36 are moved upward by the lifting device 41 while placed on the transport cart 40, and at the same time, the separator 42 tilts to the insertion position as shown in Figure 6(a). From this state, the belt conveyor 39 starts operating to insert the used disposable diapers 20 on the transport cart 40 into the inner body separating tank of the separator 42. After the used disposable diapers 20 are inserted into the inner body separating tank and the insertion port 47 is closed by the opening / closing door 48, the separator 42 starts operating. A treatment liquid consisting of water, disinfectant, and lime is supplied into the outer body separating tank of the separator 42, and the used disposable diapers 20 are scraped up together with the treatment liquid by the rotation of the inner body separating tank, and the used disposable diapers 20 are decomposed by the treatment liquid.

[0056] The inner body separation tank rotates at a predetermined rotation speed, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the waste liquid is discharged from the outer body separation tank into the pulp recovery device 43. After the waste liquid has been discharged into the pulp recovery device 43, the inner body separation tank is rotated to dewater it, and all of the waste liquid is discharged into the pulp recovery device 43. At this time, plastic and other solids remain in the inner body separation tank, with a small amount of pulp adhering to the plastic. Hereinafter, plastic with a small amount of pulp adhering will be referred to as "pla-pulp." Pulp is recovered from the waste liquid discharged into the pulp recovery device 43, and polymers are removed from the waste liquid after the pulp has been recovered by the polymer removal device 51. The waste liquid from which the polymers have been removed by the polymer removal device 51 is stored in the waste liquid storage section 52.

[0057] The pulp recovered by the pulp recovery device 43 is transported to and stored in the recyclable resource storage section 31 as a recyclable resource. The effluent stored in the effluent storage section 52 is sent to the adjustment tank 53 of the methane fermentation device 27. In the adjustment tank 53, the temperature required for methane fermentation in the fermentation tank 54, the concentration of the effluent, and other factors are adjusted, and the adjusted effluent is sent to the fermentation tank 54. In the fermentation tank 54, anaerobic methanogens decompose the organic waste to produce biogas such as methane gas.

[0058] In the fermenter 54, the proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids in the organic waste liquid are hydrolyzed to lower molecular weight compounds, converting the proteins and carbohydrates into amino acids and sugars, which then turn into acetic acid, while the lipids are converted into long-chain fatty acids, which produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The acetic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide are then broken down by methanogens, producing gases such as methane (CH4). The methane and other gases produced are stored in the gas storage tank 55.

[0059] After the waste liquid has been discharged, solid materials such as plastic pulp and other materials remain in the inner body separation tank, and separator 42 tilts to the discharge position, discharging these plastic pulp and other materials onto transport cart 40. The plastic pulp and other materials discharged onto transport cart 40 are fed into sorter 44, where they are dried with hot air. When dried in sorter 44, the pulp adhering to the surface of the plastic peels off, and the pulp peeled off from the plastic is recovered by pulp recovery device 43. The recovered pulp is stored in recyclable resource storage section 31 as a recyclable resource.

[0060] Within the diaper station 15, multiple workers are working to process the used disposable diapers 20. At the reception desk, inspectors inspect whether the accumulated used disposable diapers 20 contain anything other than used disposable diapers 20, inspectors check whether the used disposable diapers 20 placed in the collection box 37 through the insertion port 36 can be decomposed in the separator 42, maintenance personnel prepare the treatment liquid to be placed in the separator 42 and perform maintenance on the separator 42, and recyclable resource collectors store the pulp collected from the pulp collection device 43 and the plastic pulp collection device 45 in the recyclable resource storage section 31. All of these personnel are on duty 24 hours a day within the diaper station 15.

[0061] The inspectors, checkers, maintenance personnel, and recyclable resource collectors who perform various tasks within diaper station 15 can be made up of elderly people as silver workers or people with disabilities as universal employment (registered trademark of Sam's Co., Ltd.), allowing diaper station 15 to be operated. In addition, by setting up rotating work shifts, the working hours of each elderly person or person with disabilities can be shortened, and diaper station 15 can be operated 24 hours a day without a break, allowing used disposable diapers 20 from ordinary households and small-scale daycare centers to be disposed of at any time.

[0062] As described above, in diaper station 15 of this embodiment, organic waste collected in collection section 24 is treated in treatment section 25 to recover recyclable resources, and the resulting wastewater is stored in storage section 26. Methane gas is produced in methane fermentation device 27 using the wastewater stored in storage section 26 as a fermentation raw material. The produced methane gas is used as fuel to generate electricity in power generator 28, and the generated electricity can cover the power required by diaper station 15. This allows diaper station 15 to continue operating even if power from the power company is cut off due to a disaster, accident, or the like.

[0063] Furthermore, because the diaper station 15 of this embodiment is equipped with a rainwater tank 32 and a well 33, it can operate without relying on a public water supply. This allows the diaper station 15 to continue operating by using the water in the rainwater tank 32 and the well water from the well 33, even if the water supply is cut off due to a disaster or an accident at a water purification plant.

[0064] Furthermore, the diaper station 15 of this embodiment produces and consumes electricity and water within the diaper station 15, achieving so-called "self-production and self-consumption"—therefore, eliminating the need for electricity from power companies and preventing an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, thereby achieving carbon neutrality. Furthermore, by recovering recyclable resources from used disposable diapers 20 and generating electricity from the wastewater after processing, it is possible to effectively utilize unused local resources, thereby creating a recycling-oriented society and revitalizing the region. Furthermore, generating electricity using methane gas produced by a methane fermentation device provides a more stable power output than solar or wind power generation, diversifying energy sources.

[0065] Furthermore, by establishing diaper stations 15 on designated sites such as local resident organizations (community center sites) such as regional evacuation shelters, neighborhood associations, and town associations, roadside stations, supermarkets and mass retailers, hospitals and nursing homes, convenience stores and gas stations, highway service areas, and sewage treatment plants, they can be effectively used as evacuation shelters in the event of a large-scale disaster. In other words, even in the event of a water outage or power outage during a large-scale disaster, diaper stations 15 generate and consume their own electricity, providing the infrastructure necessary for evacuees' lives in evacuation shelters. Therefore, diaper stations 15 can be used as evacuation shelters in the event of a large-scale disaster.

[0066] Furthermore, according to the diaper station 15 of this embodiment, when used disposable diapers 20 are individually brought to the diaper station 15 installed within a predetermined site 16, they are collected by a collection section 24 within the diaper station 15 and processed by a processing section 25 to recover recyclable resources. This makes it possible to process used disposable diapers 20 discarded by nursing homes, hospitals, etc. and recover recyclable resources, and also makes it possible to process used disposable diapers 20 discarded by ordinary households, small-scale childcare facilities, etc. at any time and recover recyclable resources.

[0067] In addition, used disposable diapers 20 used in ordinary households or small-scale childcare facilities can be disposed of by bringing them to the diaper station 15. Furthermore, since the period for storing used disposable diapers 20 in ordinary households or small-scale childcare facilities is shortened, problems of bacterial growth and odor caused by used disposable diapers 20 in ordinary households or small-scale childcare facilities can be solved.

[0068] Furthermore, by bringing used paper diapers 20 discarded from nursing homes, hospitals, etc. to the diaper station 15, there is no need to set up a storage area within the nursing home or hospital, and the used paper diapers 20 can be disposed of quickly.

[0069] Furthermore, by employing elderly people and people with disabilities as workers in the diaper station 15, it is possible to increase employment of elderly people and people with disabilities.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the predetermined site is shown as being adjacent to public road 17, but diaper station 15 may also be located on the site of a neighborhood association such as a residents' association or town association (community center site), a roadside station, a supermarket or mass retailer, a hospital or nursing home, a convenience store or gas station, a highway service area, or a sewage treatment plant. Diaper station 15 may be located anywhere as long as it saves users of diaper station 15 the trouble of disposing of used disposable diapers 20.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which facilities such as the processing section 25 and storage section 26 of the diaper station 15 are provided above ground on the site 16, but facilities such as the processing section 25 and storage section 26 may also be provided underground in the building 23. In this case, a shop selling new disposable diapers and a shop selling collection bags for disposing of used disposable diapers 20 may be provided on the above-ground portion of the building 23. Furthermore, facilities such as the processing section 25 and storage section 26 may be provided underground on the site 16, and the above-ground portion may be used as a park or public facility.

[0072] In addition, points may be awarded each time a used disposable diaper 20 is brought to the diaper station 15, and once a certain number of points have been accumulated, they may be exchanged for new disposable diapers.

[0073] Furthermore, a cutting blade may be provided on a protrusion provided in the inner body separation tank of the separator 42 in the above embodiment, which scrapes up used disposable diapers 20 as the inner body separation tank rotates. By providing a cutting blade on a protrusion in the inner body separation tank, for example, even if the used disposable diapers 20 are stored in a plastic bag, the cutting blade can tear the plastic bag. Furthermore, even if the disposable diapers are pants-type, the cutting blade can tear the used disposable diapers 20, thereby ensuring that the used disposable diapers 20 can be decomposed.

[0074] The methane gas fermentation device 27 used in the diaper station 15 of the above embodiment can be a micro-biogas plant manufactured by Biostock Co., Ltd. The power generation device 28 can be a biogas power generation device with methane fermentation and deodorization functions manufactured by Promaterial Co., Ltd.

[0075] 1 and 2 show an example of an organic waste collection and treatment station that primarily considers food waste as organic waste, while the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 shows an example of a diaper station that collects and treats used disposable diapers as organic waste. The organic waste collection and treatment station 1 that primarily treats food waste also provides the same effects as those obtained by the diaper station 15. In terms of installation location, the organic waste collection and treatment station 1 may be installed in the same location as the diaper station 15. Furthermore, the organic waste collection and treatment station 1 and the diaper station 15 may be installed together on the same premises.

[0076] The organic waste collection and treatment station 1 and diaper station 15 can also be installed inside a garage or container used to store vehicles, etc. When installed inside a garage or container, the equipment is compact, which reduces construction costs and allows installation in a small area (site). Furthermore, by installing multiple garages or containers, a large-scale organic waste collection and treatment station 1 and diaper station 15 can be constructed. A small methane fermentation facility can also be installed inside the garage or container, which reduces the environmental impact on the surrounding area.

[0077] As described above, while an embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. All such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0078] The organic waste collection and disposal station of the present invention can dispose of organic waste such as food waste, food residue, and used disposable diapers. In addition to used disposable diapers, it can also dispose of used sanitary products such as urine absorption pads and underwear liners. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1. Organic waste collection and treatment station 2. Recovery Section 3 Processing section 4. Storage section 5. Methane fermentation equipment 6 Methane gas power generation equipment (power generation equipment)

Claims

1. An organic waste collection and processing station that processes used sanitary products brought in and collected individually and recovers recyclable resources, The organic waste collection and treatment station is installed in a designated site along a public road, where people can enter through an entrance and bring in the used sanitary products individually; A collection section that collects the used sanitary products brought in; a processing unit that processes the used sanitary products collected in the collection unit and recovers recyclable resources; a storage section for storing the wastewater after the used sanitary products have been treated in the treatment section; a methane fermentation device that generates methane gas using the wastewater stored in the storage section as a fermentation raw material; a methane gas power generation device that generates electricity using the methane gas as fuel to generate electricity used to process the used sanitary products in the organic waste collection and processing station; a rainwater tank or well that supplies water for use in treating the used sanitary products in the organic waste collection and treatment station; The methane fermentation apparatus includes an adjustment tank to which the wastewater from the storage section is supplied and which performs pretreatment for the wastewater to be used as a fermentation raw material; a fermentation tank to which the wastewater pretreated in the adjustment tank is supplied and which produces the methane gas; and a gas storage tank for storing the methane gas produced in the fermentation tank.

2. 2. The organic waste collection and treatment station according to claim 1, further comprising a power storage device for storing the electricity generated by the methane gas power generation device.

3. The methane fermentation apparatus includes a digestion fluid storage tank that stores the digestion fluid discharged from the fermentation tank; 3. The organic waste collection and treatment station according to claim 1, further comprising a residue recovery section that recovers solid residue from the digestive fluid in the digestive fluid storage tank.

4. The organic waste collection and treatment station according to claim 3, further comprising a fertilizer production section that produces liquid fertilizer from the digested fluid in the digested fluid storage tank and solid fertilizer from the residue in the residue recovery section.

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