Effect of aqueous environment on sedimentation of dredged mud and kaolinite

Port development results in production of large quantities of dredged marine sediments. Once dredged, sediments often have high water contents and are pumped to near-shore or in-water bunded marine impoundments for port expansion. However, dredged material disposal to freshwater onshore or empty impoundments typically changes sedimentation conditions that may change the effective grain-size distribution, mineral specific surface areas, settling particle orientations, resulting in settling rate changes. Salinity, temperature, water content, mineralogy, filling rate, and organic matter content may also influence sediment settlement and resulting consolidation. This study investigates the effect of salinity and sediment mineralogy on sediment settlement behaviour when deposited in saltwater, freshwater, or to empty ponds. For this purpose, slurries of dredged mud and kaolinite with water contents of 1.7 times their liquid limit were prepared and disposed into a series of 1000 mm long, 50 mm wide, and 500 mm high settlement columns. Result shows that the sediments settle faster in saltwater than freshwater or air, through divalent surface complexation and flocculation provided by seawater Ca and Mg. However, this is true if the salinity remains below 10 PSU, but the mixed mineral dredge spoil ultimately provides the densest sediment and lowest water sediment interface.