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WaterSolve offers water treatment chemicals, Geotubes®, and
feed equipment necessary for most SLUDGE DEWATERING APPLICATIONS.
Sludge dewatering is a physical/chemical operation to reduce liquid
residuals (i.e., sludge) volumes by up to 90%, converting them
into a solid “cake”. Municipal and industrial water
and wastewater treatment facilities commonly use mechanical sludge
dewatering techniques (e.g., belt-filter press, sieve drum, centrifuge,
dissolved air flotation, gravity belt thickeners, etc.) to facilitate
the dewatering of their sludge, usually resulting in a substantial
net savings in sludge disposal costs. Mechanical sludge dewatering
options are available as short-term or long-term remedies but
are capital and energy intensive for facilities already operating
on a tight budget. In many cases, Geotube? containers are a more
cost effective, easy to operate, four season dewatering option
for facilities running out of biosolids/sludge storage capacity
when land application contractors (if applicable), drying beds,
storage lagoons, and tanks are unable to keep up with volume demands.
As the properties of liquid sludge vary from industry to industry
and facility to facility, different sludge dewatering technologies
may be more suitable. In order to increase dewatering efficiency,
mechanical dewatering systems normally involve feeding a machine
with the liquid sludge that has been dosed with an organic and/or
inorganic flocculant and/or coagulant (e.g., polymers, aluminum
sulfate, ferrous or ferric salts, etc.). Flocculants and coagulants
remove suspended solids (turbidity) from water by causing the
suspended particles to aggregate and settle out of water. This
technique is used in wastewater treatment, industrial and treated
sewage from municipal wastewater treatment plants, alum and lime
filter backwash water, dredging and construction residuals, and
mining sediments.
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.
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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.
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Geotube®
Containers in Municipal Engineering
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| Municipal sewage treatment plants are now using
Geotube®
containers for sludge which is pumped from the digesters
and lagoons. In most cases, the dewatered effluent is clear
and safe enough to be returned to the plant. This Geotube®
technology greatly reduces the volume of the sludge and
the cost of disposal. |
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 |
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Geotube®
Containers in Industrial Engineering
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| Paper mills, chemical manufacturers, power plants, and other
industrial plants have benefited greatly by using Geotube®
technology. Geotube® dewatering containers
are routinely specified by consulting engineers for cost effective
containment and dewatering. Since the initial introduction
of Geotube® technology to this industry,
programs of sludge residue management and control have yielded
tremendous operational cost savings. |
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.
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