Apparatus for removing liquid from a suspension

An apparatus for removing liquid from a suspension, comprising:

• one or more drying chambers;
• a conveyor system transporting the suspension through the one or more drying chambers at a substantially continuous speed, including a semi-permeable conveyor belt;
• a blower injecting compressed air into the one or more drying chambers;
• a vacuum pipe that runs along the length of the one or more drying chambers, with one or more vacuum pipe segments that extend from the vacuum pipe into the bottom of each of the one or more drying chambers for drawing saturated air out of each of the one or more drying chambers, thus creating a pressure differential that causes rapid expansion and acceleration of the air as it passes through the suspension in the one or more drying chambers, and wherein the vacuum pipe is operably connected to an intake of the blower;
• and
• a condenser receiving the saturated air from the vacuum pipe, cooling the saturated air, and collecting liquid from the saturated air, before returning cooled air to the blower.

An apparatus for removing liquid from a suspension, comprising:

• one or more drying chambers;
• a conveyor system transporting the suspension through the one or more drying chambers at a substantially continuous speed, including a semi-permeable conveyor belt;
• and
• an air system (a) injecting heated and compressed air into each of the one or more drying chambers, and (b) drawing saturated air through the suspension and out of each of the one or more drying chambers, wherein the air system includes an air distribution plate in each of the one or more drying chambers, with multiple holes defined through the air distribution plate in a predetermined pattern to control a flow of the heated and compressed air into the one or more drying chambers.