The Paddle Dryer is used worldwide for drying a variety of sludges and by-products, generating dry stable products reducing disposal cost and converting waste into marketable by-products. Drying also allows some wastes to be used as fuel.

Dual counter rotating shafts with unique intermeshing wedge shaped paddles produce uniform heating and high heat transfer rates. The use of hollow paddles for heat transfer results in a compact machine. Indirectly heated with steam or recirculated thermal fluid (hot oil) the Paddle Dryer has a thermal efficiency of approximately 98%. Non-condensable gas from the dryer that might require treatment for odors is minimal.

After mechanical dewatering, further weight reduction and stable products can be obtained by thermal processing (drying) sludges, biosolids, and by-products. And in chemical plants, petrochemical plants, refineries, pharmaceutical plants, food processing plants, corn wet milling plants, ethanol facilities, metal processing/finishing plants, mineral processing plants, and pulp & paper mills.

Biological sludge is difficult to dewater, creating disposal problems at landfills. Thermal drying the sludge to 90+% is possible.

Many industrial plants produce primary sludge from a settling process. These sludges may be the result of chemical reactions that produce precipitates. This sludge may be blended with a smaller portion of secondary biological sludge. 

Meat/poultry processing, Gelatin plant waste can be dried to produce stable by-products.

Metal Hydroxide filter cakes, metal sulfide filter cakes, oxides and tailings from metal processing/finishing plants and mineral processing plants can be dried with the Paddle Dryer. If reclamation of the metal is to be done then drying to very low moistures <1% (99+% dry solids) is desired. If land filling is being considered dryness of 80 to 85 % is suggested, as dryer material might be dusty

Soil remediation processes benefit from the removal of water and volatile organic material prior to more costly high temperature processes. This is referred to as thermal desorption

In Pulp and paper mill sludge Most mills blend the primary and secondary sludge. recommends segregation of the sludges so the hard to dewater secondary sludge is dewatered separately and dried in the Paddle Dryer. This allows dewatering of the primary fibrous sludge to a high solids concentration with a screw press. This approach also results in greatly reduced chemical conditioning cost. Blending 90+% dry solids secondary sludge with the primary sludge cake produces a high quality fuel for the boilers

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