Sediment Tubes

Sediment tube dewatering technology has become the method of choice for organisations around the world. It is used for projects both large and small, and there is a good reason; simplicity and low cost.

Sediment tubes work without belts or gears and there are less moving parts, less wear and therefore less downtime compared to conventional dewatering techniques.

Sediment tubes are available in a range of sizes and can be placed in mobile roll-on, roll-off containers that offer ease of transportation.

The UKFC Dewatering tubes are a High Strength Geotextile that is sewn into Filter Bags or Filter Tubes and used to filter solids from sludges or slurries. Originally used by dredging contractors to build levees and beach protection systems, sediment tubes can also be used for the de-silting of lakes, lagoons and even large rivers.

The slurry or silt is pumped into the Filter Bags and the porous Geotextile allows the water to escape while retaining the solids. Polymers will greatly assist in speeding up the de-watering process and containment of any heavy metals, especially in organic materials. The results of keeping heavy metals within the Filter Bags or Filter Tubes are outstanding, please contact us to enquire more about previous case studies.

For sludge de-watering for waterways, pig farms, sewage treatment works and wineries the results are also very encouraging and the process is odour free as well. Sediment laden water, slurry or silt is pumped into the Dewatering-Bag and the filtered water passes through the geotextile, which retains the sediment and oil too.

Typical Installations & Use

a) Dewatering-Bag should be sized based on the volume of water being pumped (pump flow rate), quantity and type of sediment and the permittivity of the given bag size.

b) Consideration should also be given to location. (Steep sloped surfaces are typically not recommended as the bag may roll). Placement may be in a drop box (20' roll-off is ideal!) or similar for containment to facilitate transportation.

c) Sediment Bags can handle a discharge hose. (The hose can be placed along any edge by making a small incision into the fabric, inserting the hose and then clamping the fabric to the hose via wire, ties, clamp, rope or similar to create a good seal.)

d) To improve surface area and performance of the bag, place it on a permeable/porous surface such as hay bales, aggregate or similar. (take care to select a media that will not damage the bag – use of a ground cloth can alleviate damage from occurring)

e) Our Sediment Bags are rugged, but not indestructible. Care should always be taken to properly monitor performance to ensure that pump rates or concentrations of sediment are not excessive. Failure to do so may cause bag to fail.

f) Avoid multiple pipe discharges into 1 bag at all costs. One bag per discharge is recommended.

g) Filtered Water Runoff from the Sediment Bags should be guided to the nearest inlet, and take care to avoid causing any erosion.