Environmental Engineering and Management Journal November 2013, Vol.12, No. S11, Supplement, 253-256 http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/EEMJ/ “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES FOR SEDIMENT TREATMENT Extended abstract Augusto Bianchini 1 , Marco Pellegrini 1 , Giovanni Preda 2 , Cesare Saccani 1 , Daniele Vanni 2 1 University of Bologna, Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy 2 Design Research and Development Centre, Trevi SpA, Via Dismano 5819, 47023, Cesena, Italy Background The management of sediment in aquatic ecosystem has been an important issue for water managers throughout history. The changing nature of sediment issues, due to increasing human populations, the increasing prevalence of man and recognition of the important role of sediment in the transport and fate of contaminants has meant that sediment management today faces many complex technical and environmental challenges. Sediment management is complex, involving a careful balance of science, policy and economics. So, there is not a single correct way to address a problem, but, rather, the approach should be driven by the ecological, political and economic goals of interested parties. When sediments are managed to achieve ecological goals (i.e. reclamation of the seabed next to former industrial areas), the main focus is on sediment contamination analysis, removal and treatment or disposal, thus involving sediment quality more than quantity. Trevi SpA, together with the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN) of Bologna University designed, realized and tested a new dredging prototypal device, called Sludge Buster (SB), that has been designed for application where excavation accuracy and environmental impact minimization have particular relevance (i.e. contaminated sites). On the other hand, when sediments are managed to achieve socioeconomic goals (like navigational dredging or flood defense), the focus is on managing sediment quantity, because it is the presence or absence of sediment that is affecting final objective (for example, excess sediments in navigation channels) However, uncontaminated sediments have some ecosystems implications in terms of turbidity and/or habitat loss. In these cases, the movement of sediments is a given (if permitted), involving also management of removal, placement, disposal and/or treatment options. Trevi SpA, together with DIN designed, realized and a first commissioned a prototypal Pneumatic Flow Mixing (PFM) method plant. PFM method is a process for sediments transport and on-line consolidation (Oota et al., 2009). Objectives Sediment removal activities carried out with usual machineries (such as mechanical or hydraulic dredges) generate significant problems, especially in contaminated sites, due to the mechanical and/or hydraulic action of the dredge which involves the re-suspension of a considerable part of the dredged material. Moreover, the action of such devices does not allow to reach high performance in terms of precision dredging. Finally, also the working depth range is limited. Therefore, design specifications for an innovative technology for dredging of sediments, particularly those contaminated, should be (1) no moving submarine mechanical devices, (2) minimization of turbidity generated by the dredging device, (3) high accuracy in sediment removal and (4) adaptability to different depths (operational flexibility). SB was developed to reach these objectives. A first prototype was tested to verify its functional characteristics. A new approach is needed to optimize sediment management after dredging, in particular regarding to sediment transport, which is often seen as a separated phase of the sediment reuse cycle. Instead of moving the dredged material and storing it for an indefinite time waiting for the follow-up treatments, you can think of to take advantage from this movement to perform some additional treatment on the sediment. PFM method was developed  Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: e-mail: marco.pellegrini3@unibo.it