Solar Sludge Drying

Solar sludge dryer: dries sludge with solar heat in a well-ventilated greenhouse.

Technology to use solar thermal energy collected in a greenhouse-type facility to dry agricultural and other wet material, such as sludges, biogas slurry or sewage. Can enable conversion of a waste into a feedstock for another process (e.g. biogas slurry into compost). The main goal is volume and weight reduction. It can achieve microbial conversion, e.g. killing of anaerobes.

Variation on the idea: to use some kind of waste energy instead of solar energy (benefit: more independence of weather conditions, more versatile, etc.). These can both be combined. This makes good use of low-level waste heat from other processes.

The technology is patented.

Link: Thermo System