Terratube | Process

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Sludge can be dewatered in a number of ways

Mechanical processes	The Geotube^® solution
Compared to traditional mechanical processes, the Geotube^® solution requires little infrastructure. It can easily be adapted to large or small volumes to provide the driest matter possible. This effective, affordable, and highly adaptable solution can be used to dewater millions if liters of sludge dredged from ponds or for smaller projects.
	What it is A Geotube^® is a bag made of a unique polypropylene membrane specially designed to retain solids while letting water flow through. Bags are available in 6 sizes with circumferences of 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, or 120 feet. They are cut to length based on the volume and initial dryness of the sludge to be dewatered.

	How it works The Geotube^® solution is a simple 3-part process. 1. Storing Sludge is pumped and mixed with a polymer to cause flocculation, separating solid and liquid matter.

	2. Dewatering Clear water seeps out from the bag’s entire surface and runs into the pond, leaving 95% of the solids trapped in the Geotube^®.

	3. Disposal The solid matter remains in the bag, having lost up to 80% of its initial volume. Once the bag is full, its contents can be disposed of on farmland or at a composting or landfill site, depending on the quality and composition of the sludge.

Flocculated sludge	Flocculated sludge retained by the membrane
We test the sludge in a laboratory to identify the type and amount of polymer to use for each project. These parameters help us provide maximum dewatering using the smallest possible Geotube^® bags, so our clients get the best value. As an added precaution, we can also run a test on sample bags of 80 to 100 liters to confirm our performance predictions.
Geotube^® is a registered trade mark of Ten Cate Nicolon.