Abstract:
An apparatus for treating waste sludge comprises an outer container casing (2), internally hollow, an inner body (3) which is coaxial with the outer casing (2), a compacting and dehydrating chamber (4), inside the outer container casing (2) and along which the sludge to be treated runs, an inlet zone (5) for supplying the sludge to be treated to the chamber (4), an outlet zone (6) for unloading the treated sludge, movement means (7) for the sludge, cooperating with the inner body (3), which promote the compaction and advancement of the sludge from the inlet zone (5) to the outlet zone (6); the container net (11) is connected to a negative pole of a control unit to form a cathode, and at least the inner body (3) is connected to a positive pole of a control unit to form an anode. A method of treating sludge comprises the stages of promoting the continuous advancement and compaction of sludge inside a compression chamber between the anode and the cathode, and establishing a difference in potential in order to subject the sludge to be treated to an electrical field.