| CPC F26B 17/045 (2013.01) [C05F 3/06 (2013.01); C05F 5/002 (2013.01); C05F 7/00 (2013.01); C05G 5/12 (2020.02); C10L 5/42 (2013.01); C10L 5/442 (2013.01); C10L 5/445 (2013.01); C10L 5/46 (2013.01); C10L 5/48 (2013.01); C10L 9/00 (2013.01); F26B 17/023 (2013.01); C10L 2200/0469 (2013.01); C10L 2290/08 (2013.01); F26B 2200/02 (2013.01); F26B 2200/18 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A waste drying system, the system comprising:
a trough comprising:
a hopper configured to receive a bulk waste product; and
an extruder configured to extrude the bulk waste product in a form of an extruded waste product that is suitable for convective drying, wherein the trough defines a first end of the system;
a housing comprising a first opening, which is at a boundary of the housing with an external environment comprising ambient air, and a second opening;
one or more conveyors having an air-permeable conveyor belt, each conveyor being positioned in the second opening and configured to receive the extruded waste product from the trough for transport along a path from the first end of the system to a second end of the system, wherein the second end of the system is at an opposite end of the conveyors from the first end of the system; and
one or more air moving devices (AMDs) mounted in the first opening and configured to pull the ambient air from the external environment into the housing, at the first opening, and to exhaust the ambient air from the housing through the air-permeable conveyor belt, at the second opening, and across the extruded waste product while being transported on the air-permeable conveyor belt along the path from the first end of the system to the second end of the system;
wherein the system is configured to transform the extruded waste product into a dried waste product having a moisture content of about 5% to about 20%, inclusive, without use of any heat source for heating the ambient air during transport of the extruded waste product from the first end of the system to the second end of the system, wherein the one or more conveyors comprise a first conveyor and second conveyor and the one or more AMDs comprise a first AMD and a second AMD, the system comprising:
a first drying stage comprising the first conveyor and the first AMD;
a second drying stage comprising the second conveyor and the second AMD; and
a controller configured to simultaneously and independently control the first and second drying stages to coordinate a transport speed of the extruded waste product along the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first and second conveyors, respectively, as well as a flow of the ambient air produced by each of the first and second AMDs.
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14. A method of processing and drying a waste product, the method comprising:
providing a waste drying system according to claim 1;
providing the bulk waste product into the hopper of the trough;
extruding, using the extruder, the bulk waste product, in a form of an extruded waste product, over the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first conveyor;
transporting the extruded waste product along the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first conveyor;
passing, via the first AMD, the ambient air from the external environment through the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first conveyor while the extruded waste product is being transported along the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first conveyor;
transporting the extruded waste product from the air-permeable conveyor belt of the first conveyor to the air-permeable conveyor belt of the second conveyor;
passing, via the second AMD, the ambient air from the external environment through the air-permeable conveyor belt of the second conveyor while the extruded waste product is being transported along the air-permeable conveyor belt of the second conveyor; and
reducing a moisture content of the bulk waste product to produce a dried waste product.
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