Based on composition and volume-mass properties of MS (i.e., unit weight, void ratio, and water content), a new way for the breakage of the organic MSW is presented to effectively convert MSW to heat and fuel gas. A lab-scale shredder consisting of compaction and shredding chambers is designed and the breakage process of MSW in the shredder can be divided into three successive phases: deformation, further deformation, compressive shearing. The performances of the shredder, such as the effect of the rotor velocity and hydraulic pressure on product size distribution and specific energy are investigated. The results show that with hydraulic pressure the specific energy is reduced, and size distribution of product is finer. When hydraulic pressure is constant, the specific energy decreases with increasing rotor velocity, while the products size distribution is coarser. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Association for Hydrogen Energy. All rights reserved.