Dewatering sewage sludge with geotextile tubes

Municipal sewage was placed in geotextile bags for the purpose of evaluating the dewatering and consolidation capabilities of large geotextile tubes and effluent water quality. A proposed AS TM test method for determining the flow rate of suspended solids from a geotextile containment system for dredged material was used to conduct tests to determine the efficiency of different combinations of geotextile filters. As water passed through the geotextile bag, samples were collected during, inunediately after and for several days to determine the total percent suspended solids (ISS), heavy metals, and bacterial count The quality of pore water or effluent passing through the geotextile container systems proved to be environmentally acceptable for discharge into the Mississippi River and/or return to the plant Ihe test results indicated a significant reduction in the sludge volnme in the geotub