Solidifying sludge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9382143-B2
Application number	US-201114241004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2011
Priority date	Nov 2, 2011
Publication date	Jul 5, 2016
Grant date	Jul 5, 2016

Abstract

Embodiments provided herein relate to removing liquid from soil or other moisture rich media. In some embodiments, a method for solidifying sludge is provided and involves providing a sludge, fluidizing the sludge to form a fluidized sludge, adding a gelling agent to the fluidized sludge in an amount sufficient to form a slurry, and adding a dewatering agent to the slurry in an amount sufficient to dewater the slurry, thereby solidifying the sludge.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for solidifying sludge comprising:
providing a sludge;
fluidizing the sludge to form a fluidized sludge;
adding a gelling agent to the fluidized sludge in an amount sufficient to form a slurry; and
adding a dewatering agent to the slurry in an amount sufficient to dewater the slurry, thereby solidifying the sludge.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
applying the slurry with dewatering agent to a location; and
allowing the slurry with dewatering agent to solidify at the location into a solidified sludge.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the slurry can solidify within 7 days after adding the dewatering agent.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the gelling agent used is less than 10% by weight of the fluidized sludge.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dewatering agent comprises a flocculant.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the flocculant includes at least one of a polyethylene oxide or a polyacrylamide.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dewatering process occurs concurrently with a solidifying process.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluidized sludge comprises a water content between 180% to 300% by weight of the dredged sludge.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gelling agent comprises concrete.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gelling agent comprises at least one of: cement clinker, fly ash, lime, gypsum, sodium sulfate, or any combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the gelling agent comprises cement clinker, fly ash, lime, gypsum, and sodium sulfate.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the gelling agent comprises 20-50% cement clinker, 40-70% fly ash, 4-10% lime, 2-6% gypsum, and 4-6% sodium sulfate by weight of all of the ingredients.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dewatering agent includes a flocculant and a surfactant, wherein the flocculant includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene oxide and polyacrylamide, and wherein the surfactant includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of: alkylphenol polyethylene ether and lignosulfonate.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the concentration by weight of dewatering agent is 1-3% polyethylene oxide, 0.5-3% polyacrylamide, 0.5 to 1% alkylphenol polyethylene ether, and 10-25% lignosulfonate.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the dewatering agent is 0.01-0.05% by weight of the slurry.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gelling agent, the dewatering agent, and the sludge are all combined in a single chamber.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dewatering agent comprises a surfactant and a flocculant.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the surfactant comprises at least one of an alkylphenol polyethylene ether and a lignosulfonate.

Assignees

• Chen Bing
• Empire Technology Dev Llc

Inventors

• Chen Bing

Classifications

• C04B24/2652

  Nitrogen containing polymers, e.g. polyacrylamides, polyacrylonitriles · CPC title

• C04B22/064

  of the alkaline-earth metals · CPC title

• C04B18/0418

  Wet materials, e.g. slurries · CPC title

• C04B22/142

  Sulfates · CPC title

• Y02W30/92

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic