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The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge constitute one of the most problematical issues affecting wastewater treatment in the developed world. Water companies have in the past deposited large volumes of digested sewage sludge in lagoons adjacent to water treatment works, and continue to do so. A lagoon has a potential for causing smell nuisance, represents a major hazard, and frequently occupies a potentially valuable site. Currently no technology exists for treating these lagoons that will both reduce the volume of the problem and allow post-treatment redevelopment of the site. Electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG), polymer-based materials containing conducting elements, formed as wick drains offer one novel solution. The paper describes a field trial on lagooned sewage sludge using EKG, and discusses the results in the context of a full-scale treatment, considering the power consumption, electrode design, electrode array configuration, length of required treatment time and economic implications.

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Electrokinetic geosynthetics enable civil engineers to put electrical energy into the ground to stiffen it and control groundwater flows. This paper summarises the evolution of the technology over the past 25 years, from research by way of hype and into practice. It was conceived in 1993 at Newcastle University in the UK, combining established knowledge of geotextiles with historical studies of electrokinetics. A series of UK government-funded research programmes helped to generate global interest in its possible applications, leading to a technology spin-off company being incorporated in 2001 to attract private venture capital investment and further development funding. This eventually narrowed down the practical applications to slope stabilisation and dewatering, which now form the company’s main revenue streams.