IAI performs treatability testing on sediments, industrial residuals and sludges, in order to select the most efficient means and methods for dewatering a particular material, in our laboratory in Rockford, MI. One treatability test performed by IAI is a Geotextile Tube Dewatering Test or GTDT. This test may also be referred to as a pillow test, and replaces the hanging bag test.
Geotextile Tube Dewatering Tests
A GTDT involves pouring sediment (or other material to be dewatered) into a small scale geotextile tube. The flow rate, turbidity and suspended solids content of the water passing through the geotextile fabric (weep water) is evaluated.
Chemical Conditioning
Prior to the GTDT, IAI’s in-house Chemist will perform a polymer screen and Rapid Dewatering Test (RDT) to identify a chemical conditioning program for the material to be dewatered. These programs may be single or dual application, depending on the chemical composition and physical properties of the material. The results of the polymer screen are provided to the client with IAI’s recommended lbs. per dry ton dose(s).
Water Treatment Bench Testing
Our team has built lab-scale filters for evaluating the performance of various types of media. We can also perform flocculation and settling tests to evaluate chemical addition and clarification processes for removing solids and associated contaminants.
Testing Options
Below are examples of the types of tests that IAI can perform in our in-house laboratory:
- Percent solids and grain size analysis of the in-situ material
- Polymer screen with jar testing to select a chemical application (flocculants, coagulants, polymers) and a target dose for both single-product and dual-product applications
- Rapid Dewatering Test (RDT)
- Geotextile Tube Dewatering Test (GTDT)
- Filtrate (or weep water) turbidity and suspended solids (TSS) analysis
- Sample collection, packaging and shipment of weep water samples for chemical analysis by Others
- Dewatered material percent solids after 24 hours in the geotextile tube
- Paint filter and unconfined compressive strength tests on the dewatered material
- Bench-scale performance and target dose of soil amendments
- Bench-scale performance and target dose of chemical flocculants for water treatment (post sediment dewatering)
- Bench-scale performance of water treatment processes
Test Reports and Recommendations
Treatability test results are summarized and provided to clients, with a photo log. Based on our experience with geotextile tube dewatering and water treatment, we can also provide recommendations for full-scale project design and implementation.
Contaminants of Concern
The contaminants of concern that we’ve worked with are:
- Poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Lead
- Mercury
- Poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- Oil and grease
- Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX)
- Various other VOCs, SVOCs and metals
