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HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® The innovative, season-independent solar sludge dryer

Solar sewage sludge drying with the HUBER SRT system
  • Sustainable and eco-friendly
  • Fast and complete sludge drying
  • Easy and economical operation
  • Hardly any odour and dust

What are the reasons to dry sludge with the HUBER SRT solar sewage sludge drying system?

  • Reduction of disposal costs due to energy provided for free by the sun
  • Homogeneous, stable, dry sludge for versatile use
  • Many years of operation due to robust machine technology with easy maintenance
  • Suitable to handle even problematic sludge – due to a unique sludge bed management
  • Operating costs are low and plant operators profit from a sustained reduction of disposal costs

Dewatered sludge to be dried is spread out on the floor inside a greenhouse structure. What makes the HUBER SRT system special is the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®, which performs spreading and granulation of the sludge in the greenhouse and aeration, turning and mixing of the sludge bed.

Solar sludge drying - fully automatic and reliable in operation
HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®
Solar sludge drying - fully automatic and reliable in operation
Fresh air enters the drying hall via weather louvres
Fresh air enters the drying hall via weather louvres
Parallel operation of HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® units
Parallel operation of HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® units
The screw conveyor installed in the floor collects the dry sludge
The screw conveyor installed in the floor collects the dry sludge
The HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® ensures an optimal drying bed – the sludge is spread, granulated, aerated, turned and backmixed
The HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® ensures an optimal drying bed – the sludge is spread, granulated, aerated, turned and backmixed
Dewatered sludge is transported in through gates
Dewatered sludge is transported in through gates
Automated sludge feeding with screw conveyors
Automated sludge feeding with screw conveyors
Dry sludge for removal by wheel loader and truck
Dry sludge for removal by wheel loader and truck
Recirculation air ventilators ensure improved evaporation
Recirculation air ventilators ensure improved evaporation
Touch panel for plant control
Touch panel for plant control
Design sketch of a HUBER SRT solar sewage sludge drying system
Design sketch of a HUBER SRT solar sewage sludge drying system
Design sketch: A double shovel is ploughing through the sludge bed and turning the sludge as the machine is moving through the greenhouse
Design sketch: A double shovel is ploughing through the sludge bed and turning the sludge as the machine is moving through the greenhouse
Design sketch: With its shovel positioned horizontally, the machine can transport the sludge back
Design sketch: With its shovel positioned horizontally, the machine can transport the sludge back
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Design sketch and functions of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®
Top: Overview sketch of the drying plant with sludge feed, air flow and safety system ; Below: The two functions of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® - turning sludge and moving it to any point.

Design and Function

Design sketch and functions of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®
Top: Overview sketch of the drying plant with sludge feed, air flow and safety system ; Below: The two functions of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® - turning sludge and moving it to any point.

HUBER SRT system for solar sewage sludge drying

What makes the HUBER SRT system special is the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®, which performs spreading and granulation of the sludge in the greenhouse and aeration, turning and mixing of the sludge bed. The HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® has two motors: one drive moves the machine longitudinally to the drying area, the second turns the double shovel during forward travel in order to tip the sludge over its axis back into the sludge bed.

  • The intensive mixing of the sludge minimises odour-producing processes in the sludge and intensifies drying.
  • Round and mechanically stable granules are formed due to the rotary motion inside the shovel.
  • As the machine travels forwards from one end to the other with the rotating double shovel, the sludge is completely restacked.

The HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® can optionally use its double shovel to transport dried sludge. The machine can transport dry sludge back to the sludge feeding area and mix it into the freshly dewatered sludge, which results in the following advantages:

  • Backmixing of dry sludge reduces odour-generating biological processes within the sludge due to the reduced water content.
  • Pasty sludge becomes easier to handle – less force is needed to move the sludge.
  • Quicker sludge drying – dry sludge increases the surface due to the open-porous structure.

Optionally, the machine can be equipped with a blade that adjusts to the level of the sludge bed during sludge turning. A motor raises or lowers the blade depending on the measured sludge bed level. Larger sludge lumps are cut into small pieces between the rotating shovel and the blade, and the height and dry residue of the sludge bed can also be precisely controlled.

    Feeding of wet sludge and discharge of dry material

    It is possible to fill the drying hall all at once, but the drying plant is preferably fed continuously:

    • No shock loads for exhaust air
    • The drying system is always ready to receive sludge.
    • If sludge is fed in by wheel loader, this is done in daily to weekly batches.
    • Automation of sludge feeding via screw conveyors in the roof of the drying hall
    • The sludge dewatering system can deliver sludge without intermediate storage – fully automated, unmanned operation of the entire sludge treatment system.

    Dry sludge removal can be adjusted depending on the operation on site:

    • The dry granulate can be stored in depressions accessible for a wheel loader to empty these into trucks or dumpers.
    • The sludge is transported directly into containers by screw conveyors embedded in the ground.
    • The dry granulate can be removed or stored either on the same gable side where the wet sludge is fed or on the opposite gable side.

    Machine safety

    The safety system of the HUBER SRT process protects operators from crushing hazards that might be caused by the self-acting, automatically starting HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®.

    • The maintenance doors and seldom used gates on the dry sludge removal side are equipped with electronic non-contact safety switches.
    • A special light grid can be installed at frequently used access doors on the sludge feeding side. Unobstructed visual control is guaranteed.
    • Operators can monitor the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® from the touch panel location outside the operating area of the machine and start individual drives in manual mode or set the plant into automatic mode.
    • An enabling button is available for maintenance diagnosis if close inspection is necessary.

    HUBER climate control system

    The HUBER climate control calculates the water evaporation with different settings of the ventilation system; it then selects the scenario where evaporation and energy consumption are in an optimal ratio. The following values are included in the calculation:

    • Global radiation, temperature and humidity outside the greenhouse, measured with a weather station
    • Air humidity and temperature inside the greenhouse, measured with robust sensor technology
    • The turbulence of the air on the sludge bed generated by ventilators, determined by measurement campaigns

    The fans in the roof of the greenhouse also provide air movement longitudinally through the greenhouse. The air streams in at the weather protection gratings in the dry sludge area. Even if moisture is still absorbed at that point, the drying potential of the air increases due to the greenhouse effect. On its way through the dryer, the air absorbs more and more moisture as it approaches the wet sludge bed. Finally, the air saturated with water vapour is sucked off by ventilators installed in the gable front.

    Plant Concept

    Depending on the individual situation, we work out a plant concept for the customer and can provide the following services if requested:

    • Calculation of the required drying surface and process-engineering options
    • Reasonable arrangement of the dryer on the given available space
    • Forecast values for the potential odour through analysis of specific sludge samples in our own laboratory
    • Budget prices and operating costs for all plant components

    Our 20 years of experience and more than 250 dryer lines sold on all continents are proof of the high quality of the HUBER system and its suitability for application worldwide.

    The Benefits of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®

    It is possible to fill the drying hall all at once, but the drying plant is preferably fed continuously:
    • No shock loads for exhaust air
    • The drying system is always ready to receive sludge.
    • If sludge is fed in by wheel loader, this is done in daily to weekly batches.
    • Automation of sludge feeding via screw conveyors in the roof of the drying hall
    • The sludge dewatering system can deliver sludge without intermediate storage – fully automated, unmanned operation of the entire sludge treatment system.
    Dry sludge removal can be adjusted depending on the operation on site:
    • The dry granulate can be stored in depressions accessible for a wheel loader to empty these into trucks or dumpers.
    • The sludge is transported directly into containers by screw conveyors embedded in the ground.
    • The dry granulate can be removed or stored either on the same gable side where the wet sludge is fed or on the opposite gable side.

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    Feel free to contact us

    FAQ

    Frequently Asked Questions

    In the summer or in a hot environment, the sludge can easily be dried completely, i. e. to 90% dry residue, which means that only 10% water remains. In autumn or spring, partial drying can be achieved (to between 50 and 75% dry residue), while in winter, with longer periods of sub-zero temperatures, plants are sometimes shut down.

    With natural solar radiation alone, between 1,000 and 3,500 kg of water per square metre and year can be evaporated from sewage sludge, depending on the location. Additional heat increases this value even more; it can compensate in particular for the lower evaporation in winter.

    One square metre of dryer surface is sufficient for about 10 to 35 population equivalents and "reduces" the associated dewatered sludge by 70% to dry granules.

    Solar drying of sludge is suitable from a quantity of about 1,000 tonnes of dewatered sludge per year. The largest solar drying system implemented by HUBER processes 500,000 tons per year.

    The largest solar sludge drying plant is located in Egypt at the Bahr el Baquar water treatment plant. With an annual throughput of almost 500,000 t/a, it is by far the largest plant in the world; 128 HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® units are in operation there.

    Case Studies

    HUBER Solutions in Operation

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    2024-08-29 Manfouha, Saudi Arabia

    50 lines of HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® for sewage treatment plant Manfouha, Saudi Arabia

    HUBER SE has won the first of three major projects in the field of solar sewage sludge drying in the Saudi Arabian...

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    2024-02-06

    Trust is good, control is better: HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® trial dryer in the field

    HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®: Over 100 completed orders, a total of almost 300 machines in operation in 22 different...

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    img-casestudy-22-02-solstice-peru-01
    2022-02-10 Pachacútec , Peru

    HUBER installs solar sewage sludge drying technology on Pachacútec WWTP (Peru)

    HUBER supplies the technology for solar sewage sludge drying for the wastewater treatment plant in Pachacútec. The...

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    img-casestudy-19-11-solstice-egypt-01-construction-site
    2019-11-29 Egypt

    HUBER SE receives order for world's largest solar sludge drying plant

    The biggest water treatment plant in the world is currently is under construction in Egypt. In addition to 128 Solstice®...

    Continue reading
    img-casestudy-19-04-solartrocknung-stoppt-kostensteigerung-01
    2019-04-05 Freystadt, Germany

    Solar HUBER dryer stops rising costs for sludge disposal

    On STP Freystadt, the installation of the solar sewage sludge drying plant resulted in a number of advantages

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    img-casestudy-18-03-trockengranulat-solstice-01
    2018-03-19 Freystadt, Germany

    From thin sludge to dry granulate – all from one source

    HUBER sludge treatment solution on STP Freystadt – a concept that pays off for the operators

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    img-casestudy-17-11-sicherheitssystem-01
    2017-11-09

    New safety system for the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®

    ReDesign of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE reduces the hazard potential due to a newly developed safety system.

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    img-casestudy-16-11-baby-solartrockner-01
    2016-11-30 Braunschweig, Germany

    Research and development in the field of solar sludge drying

    A container-based solar dryer will be used for test drying at various municipal and industrial wastewater treatment...

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    img-casestudy-16-09-solstice-bayreuth-01
    2016-09-05 Bayreuth, Germany

    Largest solar sewage sludge drying site in Southern Germany fully equipped by HUBER

    In a new sludge treatment plant in Bayreuth the sludge from 300,000 PE is dewatered and dried – fully automatically,...

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    img-casestudy-15-01-solstice-variabel-01
    2015-01-23 Bayreuth, Germany and Lomianki, Poland

    HUBER Solar Sludge Dryer SRT – unique in variability of sludge feeding and removal

    HUBER SE has continued the success story of its solar sludge drying system in 2014. Like on many other sites, whether in...

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    img-casestudy-14-09-srt-zypern-01
    2014-09-23 Larnaca, Cyprus and Bayreuth, Germany

    HUBER Solar Active Dryers offer sustainable technology for maximum drying performance

    Previously, solar dryers were especially popular for use on small sewage treatment plants as they can reduce sludge...

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    img-casestudy-13-06-srt-rockies-01
    2013-06-28 Salt Lake City, USA

    Cold weather cannot stop the HUBER Solar Dryer SRT

    Since 2012, the first HUBER Sludge Turner Solstice® installations with the HUBER Solar Dryer SRT in the Rocky Mountains...

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    img-casestudy-11-02-solstice-01-penzing-ghaus
    2011-02-15 Penzing, Germany

    Solar sewage sludge drying – a reasonable solution if based on intelligent and sustainable design

    To make the implementation and operation of a solar drying plant a sustainable success, all relevant aspects need to be...

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    News

    Related News

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    NEW: Video from the world’s largest water treatment plant (Bahr El-Baqar, Egypt)

    The official HUBER video of the world’s largest water treatment plant (Bahr El-Baqar, Egypt): Over 2 billion m³ of...

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    2021-09-21 Bahr El-Baqar,
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    Guinness World Record: HUBER supplies technology for the world’s largest water treatment plant in Egypt

    Clean water for the Sinai Peninsula: The water treatment plant in Bahr El-Baqar (Egypt) has recently been awarded by...

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