Geotube®: Geotextile dewatering tube
When there is not enough space for a conventional open depot in which dewatering can take place naturally, you can substantially reduce the required space required by using flocculant. If there is not enough space for a conditioned open depot, Promeco often opts for dewatering in geotextile.
You can see an example of this in the illustration. Click on the illustration to zoom in. A major advantage of the geotextile dewatering tube is the simple scalability. You can, after all, when space is available, always use it above or next to another tube. Another advantage: a geotextile dewatering tube makes it possible to create a final, sustainable destination in the soil, as a storage or as a construction (for example as a dike body or environmentally friendly banks). Read more about that on our page sludge processing.
As an example, the flocculant requirements and the production are stated above the visual fictitious characteristics of the sludge. The calculated quantities in all phases of the process are stated underneath. Promeco prepares these calculations (a so-called mass flow balance) beforehand for each project. This provides us with a good insight of the desired dewatering process. The data is used in the software that calculates the optimal dosing of flocculant during the entire project. In the short term, we provide you with the opportunity to calculate the mass flow balance yourself at this location by inputting the required data.
Our expertise enables us to work efficiently and effectively, allowing you to save on your investment. However, there are even more advantages: read more about these on the Sludge dewatering page.
The process
What can we see on the illustration? The in-situ dredging spoil is pumped up by a dredging pump, a process in which a lot of excess water is included. The dredging spoil is pumped through a dredging pipe to the geotextile dewatering tube. During the pumping, Promeco continuously measures the dry solids content and flow rate of the dredging spoil. In the processing computer, where the data for the mass flow balance has been entered, based on the measurements, it is continuously calculated how much flocculant we need to use for the dosing. This then takes place further along in the pipe, possibly adding a quantity of mixing water. A mixing device in the pipe then mixes the flocculant with the dredging spoil. Ultimately, dredging spoil dosed with flocculant ends up in the geotextile dewatering tube, where the sludge particles will quickly settle. The geotextile acts as a filter for the sludge flocks, so that the released water is completely clear. This clear water is routed back to the original surface water.
