Mechanical Dewatering

Dredged material is often a fine-grained slurry with a high water content. Dewatering is the process of separating liquid material from solid material. The slurry is exceptionally soft, and is of little value for construction, land development, or agricultural use. Mechanical dewatering is the use of mechanical processes to filter out the water to restore the slurry to a solid state for easier transport and disposal, or for uses in land reclamation. Our team at Plains Dredging will use one of several methods to remove the slurry from your water element.

Plate and Frame Filter Press

This process uses construction of recessed-chamber filter plates that we join together to separate the liquid content from the solids, which are trapped by a cloth lining to create a cake filter—the solid mass that remains after the extraction of the water content. This mechanical dewatering process produces material with the highest solid content, which can be stacked for easy transport. The clarified water is returned to its source.

Belt Filter Press

We use this method when it’s acceptable to leave a high water content in the filter cake, such as high-volume waste streams (river silt, wastewater treatment sludges). This mechanical dewatering process is most effective when you need a continuous operation.

Centrifuge

The centrifuge is a high-speed rotational machine that separates elements with different densities. Materials with lighter densities rise to the top, while the denser components sink to the bottom. The advantage of a sludge centrifuge is the quick speed of the dewatering process, and when needed to collect solid material from thicker sludge where the solids cannot be easily captured by a filtration process.

The process we use to dredge your basin, pond, or lagoon will depend upon the particular water element, the composition of the material to be dredged, what you intend for the dredged material, and disposal options. After consulting with you, we can help determine the best and most economical dewatering option for your project.

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Based in Kearney, Nebraska, Plains Dredging is the one to trust when it comes to removing sludge and bio-solids from your lagoon or pond. Our solutions are effective, efficient, and reliable, and we won’t stop till we get the job done right. 

Serving Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and more. We travel nationwide.

Plains Dredging, Kearney, NE

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