Method for treating sludges

Abstract

A method for the separation and recovery of volatiles from a sludge containing about 1 to 80% by weight liquid solvents and 20 to 99% by weight solids, in which said sludge is fed with a reagent powder material in an amount effective to form a mixture having a high surface area to a distillation vessel, said mixture is heated to a temperature up to about 350.degree. C. while said mixture is advanced through the vessel for a time sufficient to distil a sufficient portion of the solvents to yield a solid residue powder, distilled solvents are condensed, and the solid residue powder recovered. The vessel preferably is a mechanical fluidized bed distillation vessel and said mixture is fluidized while being heated therein under a partial vacuum in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. The effective amount of reagent powder material includes about 5 to 70 wt % of the reagent powder material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.