Yieldmaster Overview

The YieldMaster 3500 series solids removal equipment was designed over a period of years after the initial work was done for General Electric on the Hudson River Project that originated in 1998.  All internal plumbing is now 304 stainless steel and corrosion resistant to ISO 9001 standards. All pumps used in the equipment are USA made and have rubber lining to allow for extended use before rebuilding and combined with flange-to-flange connections with Viton seals; the system is expected to last for years with minimal maintenance. There are no emissions from the operation of the equipment.

The slurry of dredge material is pumped off the barge via 10” progressive cavity trash pump through camlock fitted pipe to the intake of the equipment. Usual and customary incoming slurry is 35% solids or less and the primary baffle systems is the first step in the dewatering process. The baffle system diverts the larger solids to the vibrating shaker screens where the vibration causes smaller particles to slough off and drop into the slop tank. The vibrating screens oscillate in a pattern to migrate the larger pieces to move uphill to the discharge shute where they drop down onto a conveyor belt to be deposited into a waiting dump truck. This first step in the recovery of the aggregate portion is in effect a soil washing operation that is expected to remove all the expected contamination normally seen in sediments from the New York Harbor and surrounding bodies of water. The contamination will be concentrated in the non-recoverable portion [silts & clays] where the permanent stabilization process will lock the contamination thereby avoiding recontamination wherever the solids end up.

The material that passes through the initial baffle system is pumped through a series of vibratory screens down to 200 mesh and the material that does not pass through the screens is captured and washed during the process thereby removing any residual unwanted material from the recoverable aggregate. The recoverable sand and gravel are then pumped tangentially into hydrocyclone units where gravitation force is exerted to further separate the various grades of recoverable aggregate and break down any mud clumps completely. The material passed across a series of vibratory 200 mesh screens on an incline where further water is recovered and drains back into the slop tank.

This sand and gravel mixture with mesh size of 3 to 200 is now acceptable for recovery as a washed sand and gravel mixture suitable for use in the cement or asphalt industry. The only real difference between washed sand and gravel from a surface mining operation is that the dredging operation in a sand and gravel pit underwater.

The slop tank has constant agitation to avoid mud settling on the bottom and caking up which could cause the equipment to overflow. This agitation is critical and is monitored by the computer system therefore is the agitation pump ever fails, the system is designed to shut the equipment down while showing on the touch screen control where the problem is located.

All material smaller than 200 mesh is pumped to compacting hydrocyclones where further dewatering is accomplished so that the silts and clay material can be consolidated down to 35% moisture or less – the consistency of cookie dough for further processing by the vertical centrifuge system.