Abstract: An apparatus is presented for economically making crystallized glass products from waste ash produced from the sewage sludge dewatered by organic matters, which is usually regarded to be difficult to process. The melting is performed in two furnaces: the primary melting furnace and the secondary melting furnace. The primary furnace melts waste ash and the primary melt is charged into the secondary melting furnace. The glassy material produced in the secondary melting furnace is charged into a crystallization furnace to convert the glassy material to a crystallized glass product. This basic configuration of the apparatus allows the production of either irregular shaped crystallized products, such as crushed stone like products, or crystallized manufactured products, such as tiles and blocks, depending on the combination of processing equipment and their operating conditions.

Abstract: A system of drying moist sludge includes a drier as a main component. The drier is composed of a lower gas fluidizing section and an upper high speed fluidizing section. Moist sludge to be be dried is introduced into a mixer in which each particle is coated with the moist sludge, and the coated particles are supplied to the gas fluidizing section. Fine particles flown away from the gas fluidizing section are fluidized in the high speed fluidizing section while they are dried by heating elements. After completion of the drying operation, dried sludge particles are collected in a dust collector. Subsequently, fine dried sludge particles are conducted to a bag type dust collecting unit from which they are discharged to a sludge hopper. A part of the coarse dried sludge particles collected in the dust collector is supplied to the gas fluidizing section, a part of the same is supplied to the mixer to be mixed with moist sludge, and the balance is delivered to the sludge hopper.

Abstract: A processing method is presented for treating sludges from municipal and waste materials. The ashes from such sludges, containing SiO.sub.2 as a primary constituent, are treated with additives to tailor the feed material composition. Thermal processing, including melting, rapid cooling and subsequent annealing, produces a crystallized glass microstructure in which needle-shaped shaped crystals of anorthite and .beta.-wollastnite are infiltrated with a vitreous material. Such crystallized glasses having superior mechanical and aesthetic properties are an attractive architectural material which can be utilized for interior finishing, exterior walls, flooring as well as for interior decorations.