Mechanical heat treatment (MHT) is an alternative waste treatment technology. This technology is also commonly termed Autoclaving. MHT involves a sorting or pre-processing stage with technology often found in a material recovery facility. The mechanical sorting stage is followed by a form of thermal treatment. This might be in the form of a or processing stage to produce a refuse derived fuel pellet. MHT is sometimes grouped along with mechanical biological treatment. MHT does not however include a stage of biological degradation (anaerobic digestion or composting).
Different MHT systems may be configured to meet various objectives with regard to the waste outputs from the process. The alternatives (depending on the system employed) may be one or more of the following: