Claims
- 1. Apparatus for use in removing water from sewage sludge, the apparatus comprising:
- a belt press including a frame, a pair of belts for compressing sludge material therebetween, said belts being water-permeable whereby water in said sludge may drain through said belts, and means for supporting said belts so as to compress sludge material between said belts, said means for supporting including a plurality of rollers supported by said frame, said belts having a first width;
- means for reducing the water content of the sludge prior to depositing the sludge on the belt of the belt press, said means for reducing the water content of the sludge including at least one gravity belt thickener adjacent said belt press, said gravity belt thickener including a belt having a belt flight adapted to support sewage sludge thereon and having opposite ends, one of said ends being supported by a first roller and being adapted to have sludge deposited thereon and the other of said ends being supported by a second roller and comprising a sludge discharge end, said gravity belt thickener belt being water-permeable whereby water drains through said belt when sewage sludge is deposited on said belt and solid material in the sewage sludge is supported by said belt, said discharge end of said belt flight being positioned adjacent said belt press such that sludge from said belt of the gravity belt thickener is deposited on one of the belts of the belt press, and said belt of said gravity belt thickener having a width greater than the width of said belt of said belt press;
- wherein the ratio of the width of the belt of the gravity belt thickener and the width of the belt of the belt press is proportional to the ratio of the solids content of the sludge deposited on said one of said ends of the belt of the gravity belt thickener and the solids content of the sludge on said discharge end of the belt of the gravity belt thickener; and
- means for guiding the sludge from the belt of the gravity thickener to the pair of belts of reduced width of the belt press.
- 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 and further including means for use in mixing a polymer material with sewage sludge to form a floc and for depositing the sewage sludge on the other than the discharge end of said ends of said belt flight, said means for mixing and depositing including a container adapted to be mounted adjacent said other than the discharge end of said ends of said belt flight, said container being adapted to be connected to a source of sewage sludge, means for supplying polymer to said container for mixing polymer with said sewage sludge in said container to form a flocculated material, and means for depositing the sludge containing the flocculated material onto said other than the discharge end of said ends of the belt flight in a uniform and continuous flow and uniformly across the width of said other than the discharge end of said ends of said belt flight.
- 3. Apparatus for use in removing water from sewage sludge, the apparatus comprising:
- a belt press including a frame, a pair of belts for compressing sludge material therebetween, said belts being water-permeable whereby water in said sludge may drain through said belts, and means for supporting said belts so as to compress sludge material between said belts, said means for supporting including a plurality of rollers supported by said frame, said belts having a first width;
- means for reducing the water content of the sludge prior to depositing the sludge on the belt of the belt press, said means for reducing the water content of the sludge including at least one gravity belt thickener means adjacent said belt press, said gravity belt thickener means including belt means adapted to support sewage sludge thereon, a portion of said thickener adapted to apply a flocculating polymer to said sludge, a portion of said belt means being adapted to have sludge deposited thereon and another portion of said belt means adapted to discharge sludge, said belt means being water-permeable whereby water drains through said belt means when sewage sludge is deposited on said belt means and solid material in the sewage sludge is supported by said belt means, said portion of said belt means adapted to discharge sludge being positioned adjacent said belt press such that sludge from said belt means is deposited on one of the belts of the belt press such that the transfer of sludge from said gravity belt thickener to said belt press is accomplished without a supplemental application of polymer and said belt means having a width greater than the width of said belts of said belt press by an amount directly proportional to the amount of water removed from the sludge by said gravity belt thickener means; and
- means for guiding the sludge from the belt of the gravity thickener to the pair of belts of reduced width of the belt press.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part of copending Ser. No. 667,797 filed Nov. 2, 1984.
US Referenced Citations (20)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
993981 |
Feb 1981 |
SUX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
667797 |
Nov 1984 |
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