Geotube® for Environmental Engineering

Millions of gallons of sludge have been pumped into Geotube® containers for containment and dewatering of industrial waste, municipal sludge, and marine sediments. Paper mills, chemical companies, and nuclear power plants are just a few of the clients that have benefited from Geotube® technology.

How Geotube® containers work:
• Geotube® Containment: High strength permeable geotextiles with uniquely designed retention properties are fabricated into Geotube® containers that can be filled with fine grain sludge, hazardous contaminated soils, or dredged waste materials.
• Geotube® Dewatering: Excess water drains from the Geotube® containers through the small pores in the geotextiles resulting in effective dewatering and efficient volume reduction of the contained material. This volume reduction allows for the repeated filling of the Geotube® container. In many cases the decanted water is of a quality that can be returned to native waterways or for reuse.
• Geotube® Consolidation: After the final cycle of filling and dewatering, the retained fine grain materials can continue to consolidate by desiccation because the residual water vapor escapes through the geotextile.

Geotube® Containers Dewatering Benefits:

• 50% reduction in lagoon size
• 50 - 70% reduction in labor and energy for land application
• Storage of nutrients until appropriate time
• Higher quality flush water
• Reduced odor and insect problem

Features and benefits:

• Geotube® containers offer minimum impact on the environment while providing a beneficial use for dredge material.

• Cost. Geotube® structures are a cost effective alternative when compared to traditional marine construction materials and methods.

• Fabrication. Geotube® structures are fabricated from a high strength woven geotextile with special high strength seaming techniques to resist pressures during pumping operations.

Features and benefits:

• Soil Containment
  In marine applications, Geotube® geocontainment technology serves as a containment device enabling placement of fill and spoil materials on the seabed in an orderly and controlled manner. Geotube® geocontainment technology prevent the loss of contained fill and spoil material. Submerged structures, such as breakwaters, groynes, and spoil-containment areas can be cost-effectively constructed using this technique.
• Shore Stabilization
  Geotube® geocontainment technology is used in the construction of hydraulic filled geotextile tubes which serve as various shoreline stabilization structures. While containing the hydraulic fill, Geotube® brand containers also give shape to the resulting structure. These structures are highly flexible and very economical since they utilize locally dredged materials.
• Breakwaters
  Geotube® geocontainment technology can also be used as a filter at the base of rubble-mound breakwaters. In this location, Geotube® brand containers prevent the erosion of the foundation soil through the granular layers in the breakwater. In some instances, the geotextile tube may also be required to reinforce the base of the breakwater when it is constructed on soft foundation soils.

[Ten Cate Geotube® is a registered trademark of Ten Cate Nicolon. Ten Cate Nicolon USA is a manufacturer of Baycor® Industrial Fabrics and Mirafi® Construction Products. Ten Cate Nicolon offers over 25 years of geotextile fabrication expertise. Geotube®, Geobag®, and Geocontainer® brand geotextile tubes can be custom fabricated to meet the requirements of each specific project.]