Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)
1

New-type Sludge Dryer for High Viscosity Sludge

TOMOMICHI EGUSA*1

KOUKI ENDOU*2

HIROHIKO KAIDA*2

NAOKI MATSUDERA*3SHIGEKI ODAKA*4

RYOSUKE MORI*4

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. is engaged in
the development, design/production, installation and after-sales service/operation management offacilities to treat or dispose of waste including municipal refuse and sewage sludge.
In recent years, sludge is required to be reduced in volume, both domestically and abroad,because of an increase in sludge discharge quantity with the sophistication of social economic
activities, as well as due to final landfill site stringency. The characteristics of sludge are also
diversifying and accordingly we developed a new-type sludge dryer that can dry even hard-to-dry
high viscosity sludge appropriately and stably to be recycled as a means to reduce the amount ofsanitary landfill for disposal through volume reduction.
This paper outlines our efforts to develop a sludge dryer suitable for the diversified
characteristics of sludge such as higher viscosity, and then describes the operation results of its
demonstration plants.

|1. Introduction
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafterreferred to as MHIEC) possesses an abundant delivery record and extensive original technologies
for upstream-to-downstream sludge treatment including sludge concentration/dehydration andincineration/fuelization equipment (Figure 1), playing a role in consistent multidisciplinary
engineering ranging from project planning to after-sales service/operation management, both athome and abroad.
In recent years, sludge discharge quantities have rapidly increased with the prevalence ofwastewater infrastructure improvement, causing sludge landfill site stringency to be recognized as asocial problem in China. Regulations over the moisture content of sludge that can be disposed of bysanitary landfill have been intensified since 2010 and, in addition to this, the 12th five-year plan
starting in 2011 includes sewage sludge treatment as an important matter to be coped with.
Regulations over the moisture content of sludge are likely to become even more stringent, leading
to the expectation that the need for sludge dryers will expand for the purpose of not only reducing
the sludge volume, but also recycling sludge as a resource. The characteristics of sludge are also
diversifying, unlike those of sludge in Japan, necessitating the development of a sludge dryer thatcan dry even hard-to-dry high-viscosity sludge appropriately and stably.
The sludge dryer (bladed cylindrical disk-type indirectly heated dryer) was a productdeveloped by the environmental equipment division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) in*1Manager, New Product Development Department, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environment & Chemical Engineering Co., LTD.

*2Waste Transportation & Process Technology Department, Waste Resource Recycling Plant Division,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environment & Chemical Engineering Co., LTD.

*3Manager, Sewage Sludge Resource Utilization Technology Department, Waste Resource Recycling Plant Division,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environment & Chemical Engineering Co., LTD.

*4

Yokohama Research & Development Center, Technology & Innovation Headquarters

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)2

1986 before MHI transferred its business to MHIEC but it could hardly treat high-viscosity sludge.
Hence, a sludge dryer suitable for the diversified characteristics of sludge including higher
viscosity and capable of maintaining stable operation/drying characteristics was newly developed
and recycled as a new product that makes its life cycle cost cheaper.
We confirmed that our newly developed sludge dryer is capable of maintaining stable
operation and dryer performance through demonstration tests.

Figure 1

Sludge treatment technology of MHIEC|2. Basic structure and technological features of MHIEC’s sludge
dryerFigure 2 shows the system flow of MHIEC’s sludge dryer. The structure and technologicalfeatures of this dryer are described below.

Figure 2

2.1(1)

Sludge dryer system flow

Biaxial disk-type indirectly steam-heated dryer
Indirectly heated type adopted
Directly heated types (including air heating dryer, flush dryer and belt dryer) are
relatively stable with a diversity of sludge characteristics and capable of high-capacity
treatment but, since significant amounts of exhaust gas emissions come with a bad smell,large-scale deodorizing equipment is required and they also tend to consume much fuel becauseof the high heat source temperature. On the other hand, indirectly heated types are thermallyeffective since heat is indirectly exchanged using a heating medium (such as steam), and they

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)3

generate less exhaust (odorous) gas, which can lower running costs and simplify thedeodorizing equipment.
(2) Unique biaxial disk-type dryer structureThis biaxial disk is made highly capable of carrying high-viscosity sludge and effectivein scraping off the sludge adhered to the disk and casing to limit sludge adhesion and clogging
more than other indirectly heated-type dryers (including single disk- and thin film-type), thus
making it able to run stably even with a diversity of sludge.
(3) Utilization of steam as a drying heat source
If surplus steam within the factory and from neighboring sludge or refuse incinerators,
power plants, etc., is effectively used as a heat source for drying, running costs can besubstantially further reduced.

2. 2

Stable operation and drying performance

A Sludge dryer with an optimum disk shape and basic structure was developed throughfundamental research. The disk becomes more effective in the stirring/mixing of sludge, allowing
sludge to be stirred and mixed thoroughly on the heat transfer surface of the disk for possible
operation that is still stable with a diversity of high-viscosity sludge.
The stability of transport performance (the amount of dewatered sludge fed as well as driedsludge discharged) and drying characteristics (moisture content of dewatered sludge and driedsludge) is evaluated to optimize the operating condition and method, thereby ensuring stable
operation.

2. 3

Reduction of life cycle costs through sludge volume reduction

Dewatered sludge so far disposed of by sanitary landfill can be dried, using a sludge dryer, toreduce the disposal volume substantially, thereby enabling landfill disposal expenses to be reduced.
The adoption of a sludge dryer, therefore, makes it more feasible to reduce life cycle costs thanlandfill disposal of dewatered sludge.

|3. Outline of demonstration test
The test equipment used for demonstration tests was an original sludge dryer
designed/manufactured by MHIEC. Demonstration tests showed that the sludge dryer’s stable
operation was ensured and the drying characteristics were maintained.

3. 1

Summary of tests conducted

Tests were conducted at Treatment Plant A in March, 2012 and at Treatment Plant B in
December, 2012 to August, 2013 (both plants A and B are located in China.

3. 2

Test equipment

Table 1 shows the design specifications for the demonstration equipment used for the tests
and Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram.
Sludge is, after its flow rate is measured with an electromagnetic flowmeter, directly inputinto the sludge dryer through the pressure-feeding pipe, using a sludge feed pump, and thenstirred/dried/transported within the dryer until dried sludge is discharged from the discharge gate.
Steam as the heat source for drying is, after input into the axial piping in the rotation shaft and disk
casing jacket (heat transfer surface), discharged out of the dryer system through a steam drain.
Meanwhile, vapor from the sludge dryer is sent by an exhaust gas fan to the scrubber to bedischarged after dust and odorous components in the vapor are removed.
Table 1 Design specifications for demonstration equipment
Item
Heat transfer area
Amount of sludge input
Saturated vapor pressure
Number of revolutions
Moisture content of sludge inlet
Moisture content of sludge at outlet

Specification
21 m2
300-450 kg/h
0.4-1.0 MPa
5-15 rpm
About 85%
50% or less

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)
4Figure 3

3. 3(1)

Test results and evaluation

In these tests, the following items were verified and evaluated:
Analysis of sludge characteristics
Figure 4 shows the characteristics of the test sludge. The moisture content of the sludge
and ash/combustible content of the solids were measured in accordance with JIS M8812 andsludge viscosity was a measurement for the condition of shear velocity: 50s-1, moisture content
of sludge: 80%, and temperature: 17℃ in JIS K7199 (Capillary Rheometer used under ISO11443).
Treatment Plants A and B have sludge characteristics featuring a rather high ash-content
and higher-viscosity sludge compared with Plants C and D, where typically Japanese domestic
sewage sludge is treated.

Figure 4(2)System flow of demonstration equipment

Analytical results of sludge characteristics

Evaluation of stable operation
Continuous operation was carried out, using the sludge of Treatment Plant B (for which
the sludge viscosity is the highest) and Figure 5 shows evaluation results concerning thestability of drying characteristics and transport performance with high-viscosity sludge.
Transport performance was evaluated by measuring the amount of dewatered sludge fed and theamount of dried sludge discharged, showing that stable operation was ensured.
In the meantime, steam consumption in the figure is a measurement of the steamflowmeter installed at the boiler outlet, and the amount of vapor per unit heat transfer area wascalculated from the amount of dewatered sludge fed, the amount of dried sludge discharged andthe moisture measurements of each. As a result, the drying characteristics (the amount of vapor
per unit heat transfer area) were found to remain stable even with high-viscosity sludge,
depending upon the sludge moisture load input.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)
5Figure 5(3)Drying characteristics of high-viscosity sludge and stability evaluation

Evaluation of drying characteristics
Figure 6 shows the results of a comparison between MHIEC’s existing equipment(bladed cylindrical disk type) and the newly developed one (biaxial disk type) in terms ofoverall heat transfer coefficient. The results confirmed that the developed dryer, despite its
intention to target high-viscosity sludge, indicated a slightly higher value in terms of the overall
heat transfer coefficient than MHIEC’s existing one targeting low-viscosity sludge. A newunique disk shape was developed, which allowed sludge to be stirred/mixed thoroughly on theheat transfer surface, and it was confirmed that the drying characteristics remained stable evenwith high-viscosity sludge.

Figure 6

3. 4

Evaluation of drying characteristics

Examination of introduction effects of sludge dryer

Figure 7 shows a calculation example of the effects of the introduction of MHIEC’s sludge
dryer (in the case of dewatered sludge disposal quantity: 20t/day, moisture content of dewateredsludge: 80%, and moisture content of dried sludge: 40%). By drying dewatered sludge, its volume
can be reduced to one-third, thereby permitting sludge landfill disposal expenses to be reduced
substantially. Even if a sludge dryer is adopted, the sludge dryer running cost (fuel expenses +electricity charges + maintenance costs) plus expenses for disposing of sludge (the volume ofwhich was reduced by drying) become cheaper than dewatered sludge landfill disposal expenses,
possibly mitigating life cycle costs.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 3 (September 2014)
6Figure 7

Sludge dryer introduction effect|4. Simplified calculation software for product specifications
From the operational test results and an analysis thereof, simplified calculation software for
product specifications (simplified edition of software for sludge dryer specifications) was prepared.
If sludge characteristics (including moisture/ash content of dewatered sludge), the customer’s setconditions (including the amount of sludge to be treated, moisture content of dried sludge, andoperating conditions), and other information are input, MHIEC’s sludge dryer type selection(including approximate initial costs, area for installation, and weight), utility consumption(approximate running costs), and other referential data are output for easy calculation. (Table 2shows the standard sizes of MHIEC’s sludge dryers.)
This will hopefully allow customers to widely examine the applicability of MHIEC’s sludgedryers.
Table 2Standard size table for MHIEC’s sludge dryers

TypeTotal length L [mm]Approximate
Total width W [mm]size
Total Height H [mm]Weight [tons]

MSD-20
4,900
2,100
2,900
7

MSD-50
7,700
2,500
3,900
17

MSD-100
10,800
3,100
4,600
34

MSD-150
12,8003,500
5,10060MSD-200
10,800
5,200
4,600
65

|5. Conclusion
A sludge dryer suitable for the diversified characteristics of sludge including higher viscosity
was newly developed. MHIEC’s existing sludge dryer could hardly treat high-viscosity sludge, but
MHIEC’s original stirring disk stirs/mixes sludge thoroughly on its heat transfer surface, thus
enabling stable operation and drying characteristics to be maintained. This means that thedewatered sludge so far disposed of by sanitary landfill can, instead, be dried with a sludge dryer toreduce the landfill disposal volume substantially, thereby saving landfill disposal expenses.
The data obtained from demonstration tests were analyzed and simplified calculation
software for product specifications was prepared. This has enabled quick and smooth technology
proposals to customers. With this as a steppingstone, our intention is to not focus solely on Japan,
but also achieve global expansion through efforts such as sales promotion in other countries
including China and Southeast Asian nations. We also intend to promote the product’s application
in a wide range of fields including various kinds of wastewater sludge and biomass facilities.