Apparatus for drying sludge and method

Abstract

An apparatus for treating a slurry substance comprising: a support structure; a dryer system including drums rotatably mounted to the structure, the drums arranged on the structure to form a throat therebetween; a drive system to rotate the drums; a heating system for heating an outer cylindrical surface of the drums; and a collecting system under the throat configured to collect the substance. The apparatus further comprises at least one feed conveyor wherein the at least one feed conveyor includes a feed plate directing a substance to the throat; and wherein the heating system includes at least one heating element in the hollow cavity configured to heat a heating fluid received within the drums. The system is further characterized by an embodiment wherein the at least one heating element is an electrically powered resistive element and wherein each of the drums has a plurality of the electrically powered resistive elements, the plurality of the electrically powered resistive elements being circumferentially distributed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.