Patent ID: 8329042

Claim:
A treatment method for treating sludge, the method comprising: providing a treatment chamber having an effluent outlet; placing the sludge to be treated in the treatment chamber; providing a plurality of electrodes in the treatment chamber so as to be in communication with the sludge in which at least one of the electrodes is in proximity to the outlet; providing an ion exchange textile in proximity to said at least one of the electrodes in proximity to the outlet, the ion exchange textile comprising exchangeable functional groups grafted thereon; simultaneously electro-dewatering the sludge, electro-kinetically removing metals from the sludge, and inactivating pathogens in the sludge commonly in the treatment chamber by applying an electrical current between the electrodes such that at least one of the electrodes functions as an anode and at least one of the electrodes functions as a cathode and such that: a flow of water is induced from the sludge towards the electrodes in proximity to the outlet; and ionic forms of metals in the sludge are drawn towards at least one of the electrodes in proximity to the ion exchange textile where the ionic forms of the metals are exchanged with the functional groups on the ion exchange textile.