Mechanical dewatering process utilizing a nonuniform screw conveyor

Claim 1

A mechanical dewatering process which comprises the steps of: (a) passing a feed stream which comprises sewage sludge or peat and which comprises 50 wt.% water into a first end of a mechanical dewatering zone which comprises a first screw conveyor which is at least partially contained within a cylindrical porous wall concentric with the first screw conveyor, with the cylindrical porous wall having an inner surface and uniformly distributed openings having a minimum cross-sectional distance between about 0.00125 cm. and about 0.025 cm., and with the first screw conveyor comprising a helical blade mounted on a central shaft, the helical blade having an outer edge which is separated from the inner surface of the cylindrical porous wall by a distance of from about 0.08 cm. to about 5.0 cm., and with the central shaft having at least two built-up sections within the cylindrical porous wall along which the flight depth of the first screw conveyor gradually decreases due to an increase in the diameter of the central shaft to provide a compression ratio above 2.5:1.0 along each built-up section, with the flight depth of the first screw conveyor increasing by at least a factor of 2.0 at the termination of the built-up section of the central shaft, which termination is closer to a second end of the mechanical dewatering zone than to the first end of the mechanical dewatering zone; (b) pressurizing the feed stream within the cylindrical porous wall to a superatmospheric pressure by rotating the first screw conveyor; (c) withdrawing water radially outward through the cylindrical porous wall; (d) transporting solids derived from the feed stream which are located in the grooves of the helical blade of the first screw conveyor to a second end of the first screw conveyor; and, (e) withdrawing a dewatering zone solids stream which comprises at least 35 wt.% solids from the second end of the mechanical dewatering zone.