Bulk material drying apparatuses and methods

An apparatus for drying bulk material, comprising:

• a housing defining a chamber, an inlet positioned at an upper section of the housing for receiving the bulk material into the chamber, and an outlet positioned at a lower section of the housing below the inlet for discharging the bulk material from the chamber, the housing comprising a first end and a second end spaced longitudinally from the first end, the inlet is adjacent to the first end and the outlet is adjacent to the second end;
• a plurality of conveyor belts disposed within the housing and arranged to convey the bulk material from the inlet to the outlet, the plurality of conveyor belts comprising at least one first conveyor belt arranged to move the bulk material generally in a first longitudinal direction from the inlet towards the outlet, and at least one second conveyor belt arranged to move the bulk material generally in a second longitudinal direction from the outlet towards the inlet, the at least one second conveyor belt is arranged below the least one first conveyor belt and is configured to receive the bulk material by force of gravity;
• and
• a ventilation system coupled to the chamber and configured to remove water vapor from the chamber, the ventilation system comprising a supply manifold for delivering heated air in parallel to a plurality of subchambers that extend laterally within the chamber, and a return manifold for removing the water vapor in parallel from the plurality of subchambers, the subchambers being fluidly connected to and extend laterally between the supply and return manifolds.

A method of drying bulk material, comprising:

• receiving the bulk material into a chamber;
• conveying the bulk material within the chamber;
• removing water vapor from the chamber;
• and
• discharging the bulk material from the chamber,
• wherein the bulk material consists of peat moss.