Fabrication and Testing of a Variable Area Dredge Coupled With an Inline Slurry Treatment System for Concurrent Muck and Nutrient Removal

AbstractThis project examined the feasibility of coupling a mobile ferrate treatment facility with a hydraulic dredge for use in nutrient removal and water quality improvement. The system featured a variable area suction head that was coupled with an inline hydrocyclone and ferrate treatment system. The project also analyzed the possibility of reuse of the ferrate treatment byproduct as a soil conditioner for plant growth. Testing of the dredging and treatment processes was carried out at the C-1 Canal in Malabar, Florida, USA, at a pilot scale, and analyses were performed in the Water Quality Research Laboratories at the Florida Institute of Technology. Results from testing showed that the utilization of the hydrocyclone/ferrate system was successful in achieving a 70% reduction in the median grain size of dredge slurry, as well as a significant reduction in ammonium, total suspended solids, and phosphate.