About us
In 1994, the founders of Hydroclave Systems Corp, set out to design a process to sterilize infectious waste in a safe, non-polluting, and cost-effective manner. The need was evident: Increasingly, infectious waste producers, such as hospitals, clinics and laboratories, were coming under pressure to shut down their incinerators, and find alternative ways to treat such waste. Twenty years experience in the industrial heat transfer/steam engineering field was applied to ensure that all waste particles would be subjected thoroughly and evenly to the heat that kills micro organisms, from the smallest pieces such as needles, to bulk liquid infectious waste.
Firstly, such uniform heat penetration is only possible with dynamic action, that is, continual mixing and fragmenting in a hot vessel. Secondly, indirect steam heat was selected to accompany the dynamic action, to supply uniform heat, and to allow the waste to generate it’s own steam from its moisture content. On those principles the Hydroclave medical waste treatment system was developed, and in 1995 the first unit was tested by the University of Ottawa in an actual Hospital environment, at the Kingston General Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
Excellent test results confirmed the engineering principles on which the Hydroclave is based: 6log10 spore reduction of the bacillus stearothermophilus was achieved in only 30 minutes, at 121 Deg. C. and 15 Psi. The results were valid for treating waste with widely varying characteristics, such as dry or liquid, packaged or loose waste. Such desirable results by the Hydroclave process was recognized as unique and the Hydroclave process was patented .
Today, the Hydroclave is recognized worldwide as a leader in this field, and Hydroclave units are now operating around the globe, in North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa.