Winter Biosolids Dewatering with Geotube® Containers in a Drying Bed

In Municipal, Geotextile Tube Containers, USA, Dewatering, Polymers, Dewatering bags, Dredging

Winter biosolids dewatering was used at a Kentucky wastewater treatment plant to manage biosolids during the winter months when traditional drying beds were ineffective. Geotube® dewatering technology allowed additional material to be dewatered and stored in an existing drying bed following successful laboratory testing.

DOWNLOAD PDF Applications & ProductsDredging, Geotextile Tube Containers, DewateringServicesComplete SolutionIndustryMunicipalLocationKentucky, USA

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OBJECTIVE

Facility managers at this Kentucky wastewater treatment plant used Geotube® dewatering
technology to get the plant through the winter months when their drying beds do not perform well.
They were often struggling when the plant was near capacity with biosolids. The objective was to
pump biosolids to a Geotube® container in one of the existing drying beds. The Geotube® container
increased the volume of material which could be placed in the existing drying bed. The managers
liked the simplicity and economical cost of the system, which involved the purchase of a Geotube®
container and a supply of polymer.

GEOTUBE® CONTAINER SIZING

Geotube® containers are manufactured from high strength polypropylene fabric and designed to
allow effluent water to escape through the pores of the fabric while retaining the chemically
conditioned solids. A Geotube® estimator indicated 125,000 gallons of the 4% dry weight solids,
drying down to 15%, could be dewatered and stored in a 45’circumference by 57’ long Geotube®
container.

WATERSOLVE’S CHEMICAL CONDITIONING

A representative sample of the biosolids was tested at the WaterSolve LLC lab and the results
revealed this would be a good application for Geotube® dewatering technology. Dewatering polymer
were evaluated based on water release rate, water clarity, and flocculent appearance. In addition,
dosing rate(s) were determined during bench-top dewatering experiments and recommendations
provided to the facility during this phase of the program. Solve 216B was the recommended polymer
for dewatering this residual in a Geotube® container.

THE RESULT

WaterSolve LLC sent a Geotube® container and a supply of Solve 216B emulsion polymer to the facility. The tube was laid out in one of the existing drying beds. The Solve 216B was plumbed to the facility’s chemical feed system which injected the polymer into the material prior to being pumped into the Geotube® container. The facility manager was happy to see the Geotube® would hold several times more biosolids than he was normally able to place in the drying bed. The Geotube® and polymer were cost effective and solved the overload issue for the winter season when the drying beds were inefficient. The manager further remarked he planned on purchasing more tubes in the future to deal with the wintertime overload problem.