The ArrowBio process is a registered patent that provides a fully integrated solution to the problem of recovering materials and energy resources from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).

This unique process eliminates any need for the prior separation or classification of MSW, and brings closer the goal of near-zero landfilling.

The unsorted waste is tipped into a large separation-dissolving tank. Here, inorganic materials, such as metals and glass (having a specific weight greater than water) sink to the bottom, while plastics remain on or near the surface. This allows inorganic matter to be easily suctioned away for separate treatment.

On contact with water, the organic waste begins to biodegrade - a process caused by the presence of naturally-occuring water-borne micro-organisms.

It should be stressed that this an entirely natural process and requires no intervention of any kind.

The heavier components that sink to the bottom include ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, glass and other inert materials.

These inorganic materials travel down a processing line. Here they are further separated by a variety of technologies - magnetic force, eddy current, electro-optical and manual processes.

The remaining material is returned to the dissolving tank for one last screening, and what finally ends up as residue (usually about 5% of the initial weight) is eventually land-filled.

Again, it should be stressed that this residue is totally inert and presents no material threat to society or the environment whatsoever.

The light organic waste is transported down a chute into a rough shredder. Here it is again soaked in water to aid in the breakdown process.

The biodegradable material is then pumped into ArrowBio's filtration systems. These are designed to further break it down into a fiber-size thin watery solution.

This remaining energy-rich solution consists entirely of organic matter that can now be treated in the bio-reactors to produce clean fertilizer, water, and methane-rich BioGas.

In the biological reactors the slurry undergoes two further processes. As in the sorting stage, both are aided by naturally-occurring micro-organisms.

In the first bio-reactor tank, acetogenic fermentation transforms complex organic material into simpler organic acids. This acid rich organic matter is then heated to 35°C.

It is then pumped into the Methanogenic fermentation reactor. Here the organic matter undergoes anaerobic fermentation.

This process generates fertilizer, water, and BioGas containing up to 75% pure methane.

The Biogas is stored in inflatable buffer tanks. It can be sold as clean green energy for transportation and power plants - a substantially less polluting alternative to fossil fuels.