TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF DREDGED SEDIMENTS FROM SMALL ITALIAN HARBOURS: COAST-BEST PROJECT

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a study on the valorization of dredged sediments from small Italian harbours of the Emilia-Romagna Region coastline. The recovery of these sediments, and in particular the recovery of the sand fraction contained therein, is an important resource in nourishment activities of marine and coastal areas prone to erosion.The experimental activities were carried out in the framework of the COAST BEST project “CO-ordinated Approach for Sediment Treatment and Beneficial reuse in Small harbours neTworks” supported by the European LIFE+ financial tool. Main objective of the project was to develop an integrated management of dredged sediments to make sustainable dredging activities from the environmental, technical and economic point of view. In particular, the paper reports the analytical results of some pilot-scale tests of physical separation for the recovery of the coarse fractions of sediments dredged from the study area. The results showed that, upon proper adjustment of the treatment layout and operating conditions, a sand fraction of suitable characteristics for reuse applications is obtained; in some cases, it was also possible to separate high-quality fine fractions.