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The Fenix™ Dehydration Process
This section contains an overview of the Fenix™ thermal treatment and main machine components. For detailed engineering and design information, visit the engineer's toolbox area.
Process Overview
The illustration below shows the dehydration process and the four main subsystems of a Fenix™ dryer.
The basic design is a batch process with automatic cycling to run multiple loads.
The heating method is indirect and uses thermal oil to dehydrate the wastewater solids. The end product is a low-dust
granular biosolid.
Fenton Fenix™ Subsystems
Sludge Handling System
Sludge enters the system in a feed hopper, which holds 5-8 sludge batches. This large capacity allows
flexibility in the rate and timing of dewatering processes. Sludge then loads into the dehydration chamber
via an infeed auger. The batch design allows operators to load sludges with variable moisture contents and makes
backmixing of dryer product obsolete.
The dehydration chamber contains a set of hollow disks in which thermal fluid circulates. The disks rotate to mix the sludge and dehydrate it evenly. This continuous mixing process yields a biosolid with consistent moisture levels. When the biosolids reach their finished solids content, the chamber is steam-purged to get rid of dust and gases. Next the chamber discharges the material, which moves along an auger into a surge bin. The surge bin mixes the biosolids to cool them before they are conveyed to a loading area, bagging system or other distribution point.
Thermal Fluid System
The Fenix™ uses a coil design thermal fluid heater. The ASME compliant system cycles fluid through two
stacks of coils. Heated combustion air is cycled through the unit using an efficient four-pass process to evenly heat
the fluid.
Unlike steam systems, thermal oil systems do not require high pressure; the oil is easily circulated using a pump.
Consequently these systems are safer, less prone to parts failure, and don't suffer corrosion and scale problems.
In contrast to continuous dryers and direct thermal dryers, the only flame heat source on a Fenix™ is within the steel shell of the thermal fluid system. This means any combustible dust or gases are several feet away and physically removed from any ignition sources by four or more layers of steel .
Air Handling System
Air removed from the dehydration chamber enters an enclosed pipe with steam quenching sprayers,
then moves through a wet cyclone scrubber, then through a baffled and media-filled
chamber under constant water flood.
This cools the air, quenches the steam, and allows 99.5% of any particulates to be captured and sequestered to the service
water outflow for re/treatment. The cleansed air is then further treated with a biofilter/carbon pack before release. The containment suppresses sludge
odors and prevents dust and gases from contacting combustion sources.
Air flow from the thermal fluid system never comes into contact with air flow from the dehydration chamber, so this exhaust can be safely discharged, easily meeting local "furnace" air regulations.
Monitoring & Control System
The subsystems above are all directed and monitored by an integrated control system. A simple touch screen interface
allows operators to set the desired moisture content for the finished biosolids and/or the time limit for a batch to be
dried. When the operator is ready, he simply places the machine in cool-down mode; the Fenix™ will cool itself and shut
itself off.
The control panel uses a network of sensors to monitor performance indicators. If a significant safety issue arises, the control system initiates fail-safes to protect workers and equipment. A modem link to the control panel allows experts at Fenton to diagnose and address any system problems remotely.
