FlowTex Sludge Dewatering Systems

Dewatering Bags & Tubes: Product Engineering

Geosynthetics South Africa is an end-to-end partner, offering solutions tailored for every stage of your project:

• Industrial-Scale Tubes: Massive capacity dewatering tubes, with circumferences from 5m up to 10m, and lengths up to 50 m, engineered for major mining and dredging works.

• Heavy-Duty Bags: Dewatering Bags (open or closed top with inlet spouts) are reinforced with forklift straps/slings and reinforced edges for safe, multi-cycle handling on sites in Gauteng, Western Cape, and remote African locations.

 2. Municipal & Wastewater Sludge Management

Managing biological and chemical sludge from metropolitan and industrial wastewater plants is essential for urban sustainability and infrastructure maintenance. Our Dewatering Bags and mid-sized tubes provide a reliable, low-energy solution.

• Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Sludge: Dewatering of municipal biosolids to reduce volume by up to 90% prior to landfill or beneficial reuse.

• Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Backwash: Separating filter backwash solids to ensure compliance and avoid discharge fines.

• Algae and Biosolids: Effective filtration of high-volume, low-solids slurries common in dam cleaning and seasonal water treatment challenges.

  • Monofilament Advantage: The non-clogging, high-flow fabric maintains a consistently high dewatering rate for sludges with high organic or fine content, preventing the blinding common with traditional geotextiles.

3. Environmental Remediation & Dredging

The clean-up of silt-filled dams, lagoons, and contaminated waterways requires secure containment and slurry management.

• Silt Dam Cleanout: Rapid removal and consolidation of accumulated silt and sediment from mine-affected or industrial water bodies, enabling dam capacity restoration.

• Contaminated Sediment: Encapsulating dredged material from harbours or contaminated rivers within high-strength, UV-resistant tubes for permanent, geotechnically sound disposal.

• Industrial Fines: Separating solids from industrial effluents (e.g., pulp and paper, food processing, utility fly ash) for immediate volume reduction.

  • Monofilament Advantage: Offers superior structural integrity to withstand multiple fill/dewatering cycles, providing engineers with a reliable long-term containment structure  with our proven flow-optimised monofilament fibre technology.

Information for engineers and contractors

• Sludge or slurry type, solids concentration and particle-size information.
• Required filtrate quality and discharge conditions.
• Flow rate, pumping pressure, inlet arrangement and operating sequence.
• Container circumference or finished dimensions, length and available footprint.
• Supporting drainage surface, access and handling requirements.

Fabric and seam properties should be assessed together. Do not rely on a fabric tensile figure as a container pressure rating. Confirm any flocculant or conditioning process through appropriate testing.

Applications and uses

We supply and install this product for:

• Dewatering of suitable sludges and sediment from dredging and water-treatment activities.
• Mining and industrial solids-liquid separation following material-specific trials.

 1. Mining & Mineral Processing Dewatering

The consolidation of mine tailings and management of slurry is a central challenge for environmental compliance and operational efficiency across the continent. Our robust Dewatering Tubes are engineered to handle highly abrasive and dense slurries, such as:

• Gold, Coal, and Diamond Tailings: Rapid volume reduction of fine coal slurry, magnetite, and mineral fines, often recovering valuable materials for reuse or safe disposal.

• Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Sludge: Containment and consolidation of chemical precipitates and heavy metal sludge, securing hazardous waste within high-strength, durable containers.

• Process Water Recovery: Efficiently separate solids to recycle process water, reducing a mine's water footprint-a critical advantage in water-stressed regions of South Africa and Southern Africa.

  • Monofilament Advantage: The controlled pore structure effectively retains the finest clay and silt fractions (ultrafines) while the 170 kN/m tensile strength supports massive filling pressures, allowing for industrial-scale Dewatering Tubes up to 10m circumference times 50m length.

Supply and fabrication

Send the required dimensions, quantities, delivery location and programme. We can quote fabricated containers and the agreed supply or installation scope. Wider African projects are coordinated through the Geosynthetics Africa Group.