When all else fails – use Perlite!
Several years ago AMTRAK wanted to deepen some old railroad tunnels near Washington, DC. After digging up decades of railroad discharges (oil, grease, refuse, etc.), a major rainstorm and subsequent flooding turned the tunnel into a tunnel of wet, slippery, slimy sludge. Within hours bulldozers and front-end loaders were getting stuck in the tunnel.
AMTRAK’s engineers finally tried Schundler’s Perlite (Perl-Lome) and found it was the “answer to prayers.” With only 1600 cubic feet of Perlite, suddenly machines could work again, and the sludge could be handled.
Similarly, two years ago a major army base had a hazardous sludge that was too thick to pump, but too wet to handle with front-end loaders. Once again, Perlite came to the rescue by solidifying the sludge, allowing it to be handled and placed in large roll-offs so it could be taken to a hazardous incineration site.
The benefit of Perlite is that it is light, easy to handle and use, and absorbs far more than most other medias like “kitty litter” and/or sand. In addition, Perlite can be easily transported in lightweight bags or in bulk.
Download brochures from the Perlite Institute:
https://www.perlite.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/sludge-absorbent-perlite-v4.pdf
