the alkanols broadly ranges from about 0 5 to 6 moles optionally with light ethoxylation as discussed above in this regard it also has been discovered that carboxylic acids of the same chain length also can be alkoxylated to yield dewatering aids that perform very much like the alkoxylated alkanols thus c 6 c 11 fatty acids can be alkoxylated to provide another class of dewatering aids in accordance with the present invention generally speaking the dewatering aid of the present invention finds use in the dewatering of municipal sludge and ore concentrates or slurries of a variety of ores including for example metal sulfides e g copper lead zinc iron molybdenum nickel and the like iron ore clay coal and the like such ore concentrates or slurries generally comprise a solids content ranging from between about 1 and 70 with the balance being water impurities mixtures of ores and the like may form the solids content of the slurries the particle size of the particulate solids concentrates typically range up to about 600 microns in size with particle distribution being a function of the ore concentrate process the proportion of dewatering aid utilized ranges from between about 0 025 and 0.