TenCate Geotube® dewatering technology is used for agriculture applications to reduce the waste in lagoons and utilize the contained nutrients for crops. This dewatering technology reduces the lagoon size by 50%, reduces labor and energy for land application by 50-70%, stores contained nutrients until needed for crops, provides higher quality flush water and reduces the odor and insect problems normally encountered. Over time, these solids dry in the dewatering containers, making the contained nutrients easier to transport and apply to crops.

TenCate Geotube® dewatering technology is an effective way for managing waste from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's). It works for lagoon cleanout and closure, and manages nutrients very effectively (over 90% phosphorous and heavy metal removal; 50% or greater nitrogen reduction). It also controls odor and produces irrigation quality effluent water.

TenCate Geotube® dewatering technology is designated as a Practice Standard (Federal Practice Number 632) by the USDA NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service).

Many economies in Asia are dependent on agriculture. Large scale plantations like palm oil have on-site integrated processing facilities which generate significant quantities of effluent wastes that are digested in lagoons. Geotube® dewatering technology is ideal for cleaning out sludge lagoons and dewatering.

POME Sludge Dewatering

POME (palm oil mill effluent) is the liquid waste resulting from palm oil production in a mill. Although non-toxic, raw POME has very high BOD and COD (typically 100 times that of municipal sewage) and can pollute the environment. The very large oxygen depleting capability in the aquatic system is due to the high organic nutrient contents present in POME. Often, raw POME is treated using a ponding system comprising of three processes ie. anaerobic, facultative and algae processes. Sludge builds up quickly in the anaerobic pond and requires regular desludging to maintain the functionality of the pond. A common practice is desludging using mechanical excavation which is then moved to storage ponds.

TenCate Geotube® Dewatering Technology functions as follows:

Containment of POME sludge
Dewatering of POME sludge. Allows water to drain through the membrane while solids are contained within the Geotube® dewatering unit.
Consolidation of POME sludge over extended time. Allows further drying of biosolids to take place inside the Geotube® dewatering unit.

Benefits of TenCate Geotube® Dewatering Technology:

Simple and a complete solution for management of POME sludge. Desludging and transfer to holding ponds only solves part of the problem. It clears the anaerobic pond to allow it to receive more POME but the sludge problem remains.
Can be carried out at the perimeter of ponds and does not require additional land utilisation. Desludging and transfer to holding ponds requires the utilisation of large land areas to construct the holding ponds.
Short dewatering and consolidation period of 2 to 3 months result in an environmentally friendly residue that can be used as fertiliser, for land spreading or for disposal. Holding ponds only dewaters the top sludge and although they may look firm at the surface, the sludge can be very soft underneath and thus remain as a safety hazard until properly capped.
Cost effective solution. The utilisation of large land areas, the cost of constructing the holding ponds and the requirement for eventual capping of the holding ponds make the 'mechanical desludging' solution more costly.