Patent ID: 8163176

Claim:
An apparatus for decanting sludge, the apparatus comprising: a decant vessel having an inlet for receiving sludge influent to be treated and an outlet at a lowermost location thereof to discharge solids and a decanted liquid from said vessel; and a heating/directional grid disposed within an interior of the decant vessel and around which the sludge is circulated, mixed, and stirred, said inlet being constructed and arranged to introduce sludge influent into the vessel at a point beneath said grid, the heating/directional grid comprising a plurality of straight heating tubes arranged in a triangular formation having an uppermost apex to circulate heat from a heat source through the decant vessel to decant the sludge, said straight heating tubes extending through the sidewalls of said vessel and being fluidically connected each other by U-shaped portions external of said vessel, said triangular formation causing the sludge to be evenly heated as the sludge rises to the top of the decant vessel without shearing the sludge.