Material mixtures of the type mentioned by way of introduction, and hereinafter abbreviated to material, need to be moved in many different contexts, for example in industrial operations, in municipal waste disposal etc. (slaughter house offal, residual products in food production, refuse, screenings from the purification of wastewater etc.). Enormous quantities of material of the above-disclosed, or similar types are handled daily and it is a matter of fact that such material cannot be handled without considerable problems. These problems are a result of the fact that the material is, for example, bulky, contains a high proportion of liquid, is slippery, is tacky etc., and is consequently difficult to grasp firmly. Consequently, for efficient handling, it is necessary to compact the material and reduce its liquid content. A considerable and seemingly intractible problem is also involved in removing residual material deposits from prior art plants for the operations contemplated above.
For compacting material of the above-outlined types, the prior art calls for the employment of hydraulically driven compactors (the material is compacted between press plates) or screw presses, the choice of equipment being adapted to suit the physical application in question. One drawback inherent in previously employed equipment is, however, that such equipment requires considerable space and is expensive. The hydraulic compactors operate intermittently, which causes problems in, for example, massive accumulation at the infeed end for the material, while the conventional screw presses are provided with a central shaft about which entangling material such as textiles, plastic sheeting, strips etc. become wound and thereby hinder the flow of material through the apparatus, with block plug formation as a result.