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Dewatering practices reduce the water content of sludges in order to minimise the volume to be handled and improve handling properties. Studies have shown that the ability of dewatering processes to reduce the water content is dependent on the specific dewatering process and the nature of the sludge. If additional water can be removed by changing the sludge properties or in response to pressure during dewatering, substantial cost reductions for sludge processing or handling are possible. 
The objective of this project was to produce both an applied and fundamental understanding of how to improve sludge dewatering. The literature was reviewed to define the state-of-the-art in terms of conditioning and dewatering of sewage sludges. The relationships between floc structure and water release from sludge were investigated experimentally. Novel techniques for improving sludge conditioning and dewatering were evaluated experimentally.