Innovative Dredging/Dewatering Technology

Transcription

1 Innovative Dredging/Dewatering Technology Michael Hodges 314 Mountain Brush Heights White Paper November 1, 2015

2 Historically, waterways throughout the world have been plagued by sedimentation. Records from past civilizations have indicated that there were, in their times, impossible difficulties in removing sediments from strategic waterways. Thomas Jefferson became driven by the clean up of sediments from a waterway in his State. Some port towns had to literally move closer to the ocean to survive economic calamity. The same problems are prevalent today, examples of which occur when waterways become sediment filled from storm events. Clays and organic minerals are released through a flood of non source sediment runoff, ultimately being discharged into the quiet water of lakes and reservoirs. Sedimentation impacts all waterways, ultimately resulting in eutrophication. At some point, sediment filled waterways can become characterized by federal and state agencies as wetlands, a designation that impacts local communities that live near water. People living on or near these waterways, understand the loss of real estate values, recreational values (swimming, fishing, and boating), ecological exchange (one set of ecosystems replaced by another); and the critical water storage and recreational benefits of clean waterways. Dams and reservoirs are also impacted by sedimentation. The renewal of these lake systems has become the paramount concern for federal and state agencies driven to solve these issues involving water. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has designated water as their primary environmental challenge. Modern hydraulic dredges are easily the best implements that are capable of excavating and pumping sediment. With a good operator, a dredge can excavate large volumes of sediments daily. These dredges use water from the waterway to dilute sediments so that they can be excavated and pumped to shore. These dredges are extremely efficient in moving large volumes of mostly water and some sediment. When the dredge slurry reaches shore, Page 1 of 4

3 another process, called dewatering, separates water from solids. Historically, the process of dewatering is slow and costly and ultimately the reason most waterways are not restored. The costs are prohibitive. The ratio, common to the dredging industry, is one hour of dredging to four hours dewatering. The dredge sits still, with no production 75% of the time. This causes the bankruptcy of most dredging operations or the reluctance to proceed for lack of funds ($30 $100 per cubic yards).* However, through a method that begins with polymer chemistry, fine clays and organic materials (as well as debris and sand) can now be instantly separated from the water, the costs of which are a fraction of any other technology. This results in clear water being returned to the waterway, and stackable soils being re used or taken away. This new technology also has very little downtime less than 2% which means that waterway renewal can fit into almost every budget. Phosphorous and nitrogen, until now, have had a devastating impact on waterways. One of the most common concerns held by USEPA is the effect of these nutrients. They spawn the growth of algae blooms and ultimately result in oxygen deprivation. Critical ecosystems in these waterways are crushed by the existence of these two constituents. More than 98% of nutrients are also removed by this innovative technology. Sedimentation/eutrophication also impacts already stressed ecosystems, which affectedly perish from lack of oxygen, inverted temperature zones, and eutrophication. (Organic waste is also a waste that can be dewatered and recovered and is usually seen in or near the discharge from chicken and hog farms). Page 2 of 4

4 U.S. and global patents have been awarded to our company, which provides solutions to these problems. Continually operating, with a dewatering system that has virtually no moving parts and minimal downtime (less than 2%) this procedure returns clear and clean water to the waterway, removing thousands of cubic yards of sediment per day. The technology processes slurry from the dredge in real time at thousands of gallons per minute and transports dewatered soil fines within the same day. The technology has been demonstrated and commended by important federal and state agencies on critical projects in Florida and California, and in both fresh and salt water environments. After the dredging process, natural eco systems return almost immediately. The technology has unlimited scalability, which is important when considering the budgets of the larger projects. The costs advantages are substantial (usually one third of any other existing technology). Our company has made additional recent advances in the field of water. In successful field trials, capillary water (entrained in the floccule mass), can now be drained much more quickly than before. This innovation doubles and even triples production in the capture of clays and organics. This discovery is in patent pending status in the United States and Europe. Polymer use and well conceived protocols, developed during the evolution of the company, have demonstrated profound advantages in our approach regarding residual cationic and anionic polymers. Through thousands of bio assay tests, confirmed by Page 3 of 4

5 USEPA and the states of California and Florida, no harm was found in even the most sensitive of ecosystems by residual polymer, either in mortality or DNA degradation. At very low costs, waterways can now be returned to their original depth. The transformed quality of these lakes results in positive real estate values, the return of boating and fishing, and renewed water storage. Especially important is the replenishment of eco systems. As a result of our project at Sawgrass Lake in Florida, two sets of eagles returned to their homes less than a month after an absence of forty years. Thanks to dredging, restoration of clean, deep waterways, can now be measured in weeks and months instead of years. * Average Non Contaminated/Contaminated Dredging Operations Page 4 of 4