Sediment waste of mine processes (tailings) as well as dredged sediments are stored in dedicated deposits or beneficially re-utilized to build new lands (e.g. Marker Wadden) to improve resilience of flood defences or enhance habitat restoration. However these sediment and/or waste is characterized by a very high fines content and the accompanied very long consolidation times (e.g. the soil is very fluffy and not suitable for construction and it takes a lot of time for the soil to gain strength). This results in inefficiencies of the reclamation process deriving in very high operational costs. The ability to speed up the consolidation time of these deposits iscrucial for the future of reclamation of mining areas and reclamation and flood protection projects with dredged sediment. The techniques being currently used by the industry are very high in costs and not very efficient in increasing the soil strength within a competitive time scale and thus there is room for improvement and for seeking new competitive and efficient technologies. This project builds up on the positive development and findings of the previous phase towards further improving consolidation of soft sediments in depositional processes at reclamation projects.

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