Chemical Conditioning refers to the addition of coagulants and/or flocculants to optimize the sludge dewatering.

The
following is a layman's description for chemical conditioning to provide a general understanding of the steps involved
in setting up a system to make the chemicals down into solution and them mix the solution into the sludge or slurry
prior to it going into the TenCate Geotube unit for dewatering.
We recommend that you consult with a professional polymer supplier to conduct the bench tests to determine the
optimum products and dosages. Likewise, if you are not familiar with setting up the polymer mixing and injection
system, consult with your polymer supplier for assistance. Click here to see a flow diagram of a simple polymer make
down system used to mix chemicals into a dewatering project.
For all kinds of dewatering equipment, be sure to check all of these parameters:
1.

Sludge flow

2.

Sludge concentration

3.

Flocculant flow

4.

Flocculant concentration

5.

Post-dilution water flow

6.

Injection point(s)

TenCate Geotube has developed two tests to assist the operator or chemical supplier in evaluating candidate
chemical regimens: (1) RDT (Rapid Dewatering Test) and (2) GDT (Geotube Dewatering Test).
These tests allow the operator to do the following:

Visualize the dewatering process

Evaluate the efficiency of the selected polymer

Analyze the clarity of the effluent

Predict achievable percent solids after dewatering in TenCate Geotube units

Estimate the time of the dewatering cycle.