Apparatus for treating sewage sludge

An apparatus for the treatment of sludge filter cake material, which comprises in combination:

• a. means to reduce the particle size of the sludge filter cake to be treated which comprises,
• i. a means to move a continuous bed of the sludge filter cake to be reduced,
• ii. a rotating raking reel means to shred the sludge filter cake on the bed into small particles,
• iii. a rotating leveling reel to provide a uniform bed of the shredded sludge material, and
• iv. means to convey the shredded sludge particles to the inlet section of the mixing means;
• b. means to agitate, mix and react the reduced sludge material, which means includes,
• i. a rotating shaft within an elongated vessel,
• ii. the vessel including an inset at the one end of the vessel and an outlet at the other end, and defining a reaction section therein,
• iii. the shaft including a plurality of paddles secured thereto for rotation with the shaft to provide for mixing of the reduced sludge material and movement of the material from the inlet to the outlet,
• iv. means to introduce the reduced sludge into an inlet section of the vessel,
• v. means to introduce an acid material into the reduced sludge material in the vessel,
• vi. means to heat the vessel whereby the reaction section may be maintained at a reaction temperature from about 30.degree. to 80.degree. C,
• vii. means to introduce recycled dry sludge material into the inlet section of the vessel,
• viii. means to introduce into the reaction section of the vessel an aqueous condensable methylol-prepolymer solution for reaction with the sludge and for condensation, and
• ix. means to discharge a granular sludge-polymer reaction product from the outlet;
• c. means to dry the discharged reaction product from the outlet to a desired moisture content of less than about 10%;
• and
• d. means to screen the dry reaction product and to recover a dry reaction product of the desired particle size.