Do floc characteristics influence geotextile tube dewatering performance?

Geotextile tubes have been successfully used by numerous industries to dewater a variety of high-water-content slurries and waste materials. Concurrent with the expanding use of geotextile tubes, the desire to reduce effluent turbidity and improve the speed of dewatering has led to the established use of polymer flocculants, sometimes referred to as dewatering conditioners or accelerants. By nature, fine particles normally have a net negative surface charge, causing them to repel one another. This inter-particle repulsion opposes aggregation and stabilizes colloids in suspension for long periods of time, resulting in high turbidity. Because the presence of suspended solids in a geotextile tube input material increases initial soil piping and reduces the overall dewatering rate, it is desirable to aggregate solids. For this to occur, particles must either be bridged via chemical connections or the repulsion forces must be negated so particles are free to collide and combine.