Lightly cemented dredged sediments for sustainable reuse

Abstract

Large amounts of dredged sediments are removed from river channels and port areas to maintain minimum depths to allow the passage of freight and other watercraft. In some situations, use of excess material from dredging can be employed as a more sustainable approach to materials management rather than historically used disposal methods. Responses to a 2014 survey indicate that many ports in the southeastern USA do not reuse dredged sediments in a purposeful way. In this study, the authors investigate the geotechnical properties, economic competitiveness and sustainability aspects of lightly cemented dredged sediments and marginal materials for beneficial reuse in ports. After a literature review of relevant beneficial approaches to the reuse of dredged sediment, this paper presents consistency and strength tests performed on marginal materials such as dredged sediment and bottom ash after being lightly stabilised with up to 5·0% cement by slurry mass. Based on sustainability calculations and feasibility considerations, it seems that beneficial reuse of dredged sediments after light cementing is worth considering for ports with limited dredged sediment capacity and the desire for a more sustainable construction material for applications such as land creation.