Kaytech

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Who is Kaytech?
A pioneer in geotextiles, Kaytech has provided Africa with geosynthetic solutions for over 40 years. Supplying to the civil engineering, construction and mining sectors Kaytech is a leading manufacturer in South Africa of nonwoven geotextiles.

What is bidim and how is it unique?
World-renowned bidim is a general purpose, nonwoven, spunbonded, continuous filament, needlepunched, polyester geotextile. Manufactured from 100% recycled polyester or rPET, it is used in numerous applications including: filtration, subsoil drainage in roads, sports field drainage, structural drainage, erosion control, separation in landfills and dams, rail track and road reinforcement, reinforcing soil slopes, liner protection, road maintenance, and impermeable linings.

bidim has become such a recognizable name that it is used synonymously across all geotextiles in the nonwoven category. However, not all nonwoven geotextiles are created equal. Over the past 27 years, Kaytech’s ISO 9001 registered production facility in Atlantis has extracted tons of high-grade polyester from 740 million discarded 2-litre plastic cooldrink bottles. Choosing to use rPET is a decision Kaytech took to minimize landfill waste and thus reduce their environmental footprint. Converting this 100% recycled material into an eco-friendly polyester geotextile, has made A-grade bidim the natural choice for the most stringent civil engineering and industrial specifications.

What is the difference between soft engineering with geotextiles vs traditional erosion control?
Whereas traditional gabions made from stone, concrete or steel tend to stand proud of the environment, presenting a man-made structure that is unconcealed, geotextiles become aesthetically absorbed into the environment over time as they are covered by sand and/or vegetation. Kaytech EnviroRock geocontainers are extremely robust and designed to be filled with sand, soil, gravel, recycled material, treated materials or a combination of these so that they form a stable, durable geocontainer. Made from specifically designed and manufactured multi-laminate nonwoven and composite geotextiles, the versatility of EnviroRock is evident in structures such as walls, groynes, reef structures and flow control structures. It is ideal for use in coastal applications due to its enhanced filtration combined with resistance to puncture, abrasion and UV rays.

What is the optimum geotextile solution for reinforcement?
RockGrid PC is the first composite reinforcing geotextile to be manufactured in South Africa. It offers the reinforcement characteristics of stiff geogrids and wovens and in conjunction with its nonwoven geotextile fleece component, provides high resistance to installation stresses and optimum hydraulic characteristics, one of the special features of this unique product.

RockGrid PC provides sufficient in-plane drainage capacity, enabling it to drastically reduce pore pressure in the reinforced soil thereby improving shear strength characteristics and increasing overall stability of the structure. Even moist, cohesive soils can be utilized as a fill in steep retaining structures as the consolidation process is accelerated. This makes soil exchange and the import of expensive fill material unnecessary, saving both time and money.

What are geosynthetic clay liners?
EnviroFix Thermal Lock Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs) are needlepunched reinforced composites which combine two durable geotextile outer layers with a uniform core of natural sodium bentonite clay to form a hydraulic barrier. The sodium bentonite clay used in EnviroFix is a naturally occurring clay mineral that swells as water enters between its clay platelets. When hydrated under confinement, the bentonite swells to form a low permeability clay liner with the equivalent hydraulic protection of approximately one meter of compacted clay.

Benefits of EnviroFix: It can completely or partially replace thick, multilift compacted clay layers in composite landfill liners and capes due to the efficiency of the high swelling natural sodium bentonite clay. It provides exceptional liquid containment – in reservoirs, water features, irrigation canals, as well as industrial ponds and lagoons, due to its low permeability, high internal shear strength and protective soil covering. EnviroFix can also be used as a secondary containment barrier in above ground tank impoundments, due to the ease of installation and simple pipe penetration construction.

For more information on Kaytech products and systems, visit www.kaytech.co.za

Issued for: Garth James
Kaytech Engineered Fabrics
Tel: (031) 717 2300
[email protected]
Issued by: Lori Booth
Media Magenta for Kaytech
Tel: 031 764 3932 / 083 788 1702
[email protected]