Mechanical-Biological Pre-Treatment

At present in Germany there are 61 plants for Mechanical(-Biological) Treatment (M(B)T) of residual wastes with a total capacity of about 6.4 million tons per year. They can be classified in four process concepts: material stream separation, mechanical-biological stabilization (with a biological drying process), mechanical-physical stabilization (with a thermal drying process) and mechanical(-biological) pre-treatment prior to incineration. M(B)Ts are complex waste treatment plants with a wide ranging variety in terms of their technical configuration, which comprises mechanical processing, mostly biological treatment, possibly processing of the high-calorific fractions for use as solid recovered fuel (SRF), flue gas purification and possibly waste water treatment.