Sludge Dryer Overhaul and Upgrade
Air Group personnel recently completed upgrades and repairs to a competitor's problematic RTO system at a municipal sludge dryer and pelletizing plant in California.
Issue
- Existing two chamber RTO not meeting California emission standards
- Ceramic saddle media plugging in 2-3 weeks with particulates and silicone compounds
- Owner spending $40,000/month to continually replace media
- System downtime causing major loss of revenue
Solution
- Upgraded RTO with Colt's hybrid media beds, replacing poor performing saddles
- Upgraded RTO with instrumentation to monitor individual heat recovery beds
- Modified RTO to allow washout of the new hybrid media
Results
- Colt's upgraded RTO ran 9 months before first washout, with total downtime reduced to 6 hours
- Additional instrumentation allowed more efficient operation of RTO reducing operating cost
- Plant met production goals for the first time since original RTO startup
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