Validate before you buy

Test Your Sludge — Get a Written Recommendation Before You Buy Equipment

A bench test on a small sample tells you more than any brochure. We ship you a sampling kit, run filtration and dewatering trials in our lab, and return a written report — dewatering behaviour, achievable cake dryness and the technology we recommend — before you commit a single dollar to equipment.

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Compare the technologies first

Why test at all

One Sample Answers the Four Questions That Decide the Machine

Sludge from two plants with the same name rarely behaves the same. The numbers below — measured on your feed — are the ones that size the machine, set the polymer budget and survive a capital-expenditure review.

Is my sludge dewaterable?

Filtration behaviour and conditioning response measured on your actual sample — not on “typical” data for your industry.

How dry can the cake get?

Achievable dryness under realistic pressure and cycle time — with and without membrane squeeze.

Which technology fits?

Filter press, belt, screw or rotary drum — shortlisted on your feed, your operating hours and your dryness target.

What will it cost to run?

Polymer type and dose, cycle time and throughput — the operating numbers that size the machine and the budget.

The process

From Sample to Shortlist in Five Steps

1Request & kit

Tell us about your sludge — we confirm scope and ship a sampling kit with instructions.

2Send a sample

Fill roughly one to two litres, label date and source, and ship — we guide the packing.

3Bench test

Filtration and dewatering trials in our lab: filterability, plate trials and polymer screening.

4Written report

Dewatering behaviour, achievable dryness, polymer need and the recommended technology — board-ready.

5Pilot & sizing

Optional on-site or skid pilot at real throughput — then the machine is sized on data, not guesswork.

Technology selection guide →
Filter press sizing & capacity calculation →
Why pilot testing matters →

The bench test, in detail

What We Measure on Your Sample

Loway lab pilot filter press used for bench and small-batch trials — The lab pilot filter press Loway uses for bench trials, small-batch production runs and R&D validation — the same plate-pack geometry as our production machines.

Feed characterisation — dry solids content and the organic / inorganic mix of your sludge.
Filterability — capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF).
Conditioning — the optimum polymer type and dose, or inorganic flocculant where it performs better.
Cake dryness — against pressure and filtration time, including the membrane-squeeze option.
Solids capture — and the clarity of the filtrate returned to your process.
Chemistry for materials selection — pH, temperature, chemical compatibility and odour class.

Every result lands in the same written report as the machine recommendation — one document that can back your internal capex review. Not sure what the numbers mean? Read the selection guide first →

Packing & shipping

Taking and Sending a Sample

Volume — about 1–2 litres of liquid sludge, or 1 kg of already-dewatered cake.
Container — sealed and leak-proof, labelled with the date and the source point. The kit we send includes everything you need.
Transit — keep it cool and ship it promptly; tell us if freezing is the real condition at your plant, and we will match it in the test.
Special feeds — if your sludge is hazardous, corrosive, oily or hot, tell us before you ship. We confirm handling and packaging with you first.

Not ready to ship? Send the sludge data sheet instead — flow, solids and source are often enough for a first shortlist, and we can agree whether a physical test is worth it.

Loway lab filter press for precision filtration and R&D small-batch production — The bench unit used for small-batch and R&D filtration runs — compact enough to trial a single plate pack, representative enough to scale from.

What you receive

A Written Report You Can Put in Front of Your Board

No oral “probably”, no brochure maths. You get the measurements, the reasoning and the recommendation in writing — and you keep the report whether or not you buy from us.

Feed & behaviour summarywhat your sludge is and how it filters.

Achievable drynessper candidate machine, with membrane option.

Operating notespolymer, cycle time, throughput estimates.

Recommendationthe technology we recommend — and why.

Request a Sludge Test
Send a sludge data sheet instead

Sample & testing FAQ

Sludge Testing Questions, Answered

How much sludge do I need to send?

About one to two litres of liquid sludge, or one kilogram of dewatered cake. For a plant that wants to run its own trials in parallel, we can agree a larger volume when we confirm the scope.

What does the test cost?

The lab work and the written report are part of Loway’s engineering support. Before you ship anything we confirm the scope and any cost you may incur — normally only the freight — in writing, so there are no surprises on either side.

How long until I get the report?

Every request is acknowledged within 24 hours, and we agree the report date when we confirm the scope — before you ship. You will have the numbers in hand before any sizing conversation starts.

Can you test hazardous, oily or chemical sludge?

We run industrial feeds every day. Tell us what is in yours before you ship — composition, flash point, corrosivity — and we confirm handling, packaging and safety requirements with you first.

Is a pilot trial better than a bench test?

They answer different questions. The bench test shortlists the technology and gives the report numbers; a pilot then runs your sludge through a real machine at representative throughput to confirm it under production conditions. Most projects start with the bench test and add a pilot only when the purchase is large or the sludge unusual.

Do I have to buy the machine from Loway afterwards?

No. The report is yours and the recommendation is written to be technically honest — if your current process or another supplier’s machine is the right fit for your sludge, we will say so.

Where is the test carried out?

The lab sits inside the Loway plant in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China — the same engineers who size and build the machines run the trials and write the report.

Ready when you are

Send Your Sludge — We’ll Shortlist the Machine

One litre of sludge beats a month of brochure reading. Request the kit, or send your sludge data sheet and let an engineer start the shortlist today.

Request a Sludge Test
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Sludge Testing & Sample Analysis – Bench Test Before You Buy