Environmental geological and geotechnical investigations related to the potential use of Ankara clay as a compacted landfill liner material, Turkey

Clay-bearing Upper Pliocene red clastics and Quaternary alluvial deposits occupy the Ankara basin. The clayey levels of the Upper Pliocene deposits, referred to as Ankara clay, is considered as a source for compacted clay liners due to their low coefficients of permeability and widespread distributions throughout Ankara. This study investigates the geological, geotechnical and mineralogical properties of the founding clayey soils at two sites of the Ankara region. The geotechnical index properties along with the hydraulic conductivities of the clayey soil samples collected from these sites were determined. A mathematical relation between the clay mineralogical content and hydraulic conductivity was established. The results of this investigation show that, from a geotechnical point of view, Ankara clay may be regarded as a highly suitable material for a compacted clay landfill liner given that its mineralogical compatibility with leachate is confirmed.     

衬垫中污染物运移的一维概率分析

衬垫中污染物的运移分析一般采用确定性方法。为了研究渗透系数变异性对污染物运移的影响,基于土层剖面随机场理论,将渗透系数模拟成服从对数正态分布的空间随机场,利用Monte-Carlo和数值积分两种方法进行分析。两种方法得到的结果有很好的一致性。衬垫渗透系数的空间变异性对污染物运移有重要影响。变异系数较大时,衬垫失效概率在前期较大而后期较小,但衬垫底部出现高浓度(相对浓度0.9～1.0)的几率也较高。衬垫的可靠性要综合考虑渗透系数的变异性和渗透系数数值范围的影响。      

Diffusion and sorption experiments using a DKS permeameter

The analysis of contaminant transport through clay liner is a relevant aspect in the design of industrial, urban and mining waste disposal systems, since these areas must be designed and operated to prevent contaminating substances from reaching underground water systems in unacceptable concentrations. The design requires an estimate of the potential contaminant transport rate. However, before any attempt at quantification can be made, values for transport mechanism control parameters must be established. Clayey materials are frequently used as contaminant barriers. In these materials, which have low hydraulic conductivity, the main contaminant transport mechanism is molecular diffusion. Parameters controlling transport for these conditions are the diffusion coefficient and sorption parameters. These parameters depend on soil constituents and characteristics as well as on the chemical constitution of the contaminant. The great complexity of the factors involved makes it necessary to determine the parameters of each type of soil. This paper discusses an equipment called DKS permeameter (diffusion, convection, sorption), for the study of soil-contaminant transport mechanisms, designed at the Institute for Soil Mechanics of the Ruhr-University Bochum, and some results obtained from its use at COPPE/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. This equipment determines the effective diffusion coefficient and sorption parameter with a better reflection of field conditions. The soil under study is a mix of sodium–bentonite that has low hydraulic conductivity (k=10⁻⁹ cm/s) with adequate liner characteristics. The result indicated the relevance of determining sorption parameters for structured soils, since the sorption perceived from batch test results using pulverised soil represents maximum soil capacity. Designs based on this parameter would overestimate the attenuation capacity of the liner.     

Theoretical investigation of the effects of consolidation on contaminant transport through clay barriers

Consolidation of clayey contaminant barriers such as landfill liners has been postulated as a cause of early breakthrough of contaminants. In this paper we theoretically investigate this proposition. For this purpose a sophisticated one‐dimensional, large‐deformation model of coupled mechanical consolidation and solute transport is employed. This new model is a generalization of existing coupled consolidation and solute transport models described in the literature. It takes into account both non‐linearities in geometry as well as constitutive relations. The latter relate the compressibility, hydraulic conductivity and coefficient of effective diffusivity to the deformation of the soil. The model is applied to a case study of a clay liner and geomembrane system. Results obtained from numerical solution of the model equations are compared with those from various simplified models, including a ‘diffusion only’ (i.e. a rigid soil) model traditionally used in contaminant barrier design. For barriers incorporating low compressibility soils (as for many well compacted clays), there is little difference between contaminant transit (i.e. breakthrough) times predicted by the two models. However, for contaminant barriers incorporating more compressible soils, consolidation is shown to significantly accelerate transport. These results indicate the potential importance of accounting for the effects of soil consolidation and highlight the limitations of existing models when modelling solute transport through composite barriers utilizing soft soils. Based on these limited results, we suggest a possible way of taking into account soil consolidation using simplified models. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

复合衬层中变系数有机污染物迁移规律分析

土工膜和下伏压实黏土组成的复合衬层已被广泛用作填埋场的防渗屏障系统。有机污染物在复合衬层中迁移时,其主要运移机制是扩散作用。假设有机污染物在土工膜中稳态扩散,并假设在下伏衬层中扩散系数为迁移距离的线性函数,且考虑降解作用的影响,建立了有机污染物在复合衬层中的一维扩散模型,针对零浓度下边界条件,获得了模型解析解。基于该解析解,分析讨论了相关参数的敏感性。结果表明,相关参数对计算结果影响很大,降解半衰期对污染物运移同样存在较大影响。该解析模型仅适用于有机污染物在两层复合衬垫中的迁移问题,可为填埋场的初步设计提供参考     

Field applicability of self-recovering sustainable liner as landfill final cover

Preventing the penetration of rainwater into a landfill site is the main purpose of the final cover in landfill sites. Conventional designs of landfill covers use geotextiles, such as geomembrane and geosynthetic clay liners, and clay liners to lower the permeability of the final cover of landfill sites. However, differential settlement and climatic effects in landfill sites instigate crack development or structural damage inside the final cover. This study therefore investigates the field applicability of a self-recovering sustainable liner (SRSL) as an alternative to the landfill final cover. The SRSL utilizes the precipitation reaction of two chemical materials to form precipitates that fill the pores and thereby lower the overall permeability of the liner. To examine the field applicability of the SRSL system, uniaxial compression tests and laboratory hydraulic conductivity tests were performed under various climatic effects such as wet/dry and freeze/thaw processes. Furthermore, field-scale hydraulic conductivity tests were performed with intentionally induced cracks to demonstrate the self-recovery performance for practical applications. Extensive laboratory and field test results confirmed the capability of the SRSL final cover system to fulfill the strength and hydraulic conductivity requirements, even in harsh field conditions.     

垃圾填埋场斑脱土衬里可行性评价

首先对斑脱土衬里(粘土-斑脱土、砂-斑脱土) 进行变水头实验, 得粘土-斑脱土的渗透系数为6.0×10-9~3.0×10-8cm/s, 砂-斑脱土的渗透系数为1.0×10-9~3.0×10-9cm/s.从防渗角度分析, 2种斑脱土混合物均适合作垃圾填埋场的底层衬里.然后对斑脱土衬里进行持水与水迁移实验, 评价斑脱土衬里水的迁移特性.以水迁移实验为基础, 模拟斑脱土衬里与地基5种不同含水量的条件, 对斑脱土衬里进行直接剪切实验, 测定斑脱土衬里的剪切强度及斑脱土衬里与地基接触面的剪切强度.再对斑脱土衬里进行三轴固结不排水实验, 测定其总剪切强度与有效剪切强度.实验结果表明: 地下水具有很大的潜力从地基流向斑脱土衬里, 从而大大提高斑脱土衬里的含水量; 随着含水量的增加, 粘土-斑脱土、砂-斑脱土衬里的抗剪强度逐渐减小.根据实验所获得的抗剪强度参数, 选择日本山谷型垃圾填埋场典型剖面, 对山谷型垃圾填埋场进行稳定性评价.结果表明: 对于角度小于20°的缓倾角山谷型垃圾填埋场, 使用粘土-斑脱土、砂-斑脱土作为底层衬里是稳定的.因此, 2种斑脱土混合物适合作山谷型垃圾填埋场的底层衬里.      

Heave Studies on Fly Ash-Stabilised Expansive Clay Liners

Clay liners or compacted earthen barriers are important barrier materials used for preventing contaminant transport through soils. A low hydraulic conductivity (k) is a significant parameter that governs the design and construction of clay liners. Compacted expansive clays, which are montmorillonite clays, also have a very low hydraulic conductivity (k). When expansive clays are blended with fly ash, an industrial waste, the hydraulic conductivity (k) further reduces as the ash-clay blends result in increased dry densities at increased fly ash contents. Hence, fly ash-stabilised expansive clay can also be proposed as a unique clay liner material. As expansive clays undergo heave when they come into contact with water, it is necessary to study the heave behaviour of fly ash-stabilised expansive clay liners. This paper presents heave studies on fly ash-stabilised expansive clay liners. Fly ash in different contents by dry weight of the expansive clay was added to the clay, and the ash-clay blend was compacted as a liner overlying a natural field soil layer. Compacted lateritic clay was used for simulating the natural field soil into which contaminants migrate. Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) solution of varying concentration (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 mM) was used as the permeating fluid in the heave studies. The rate of heave and the amount of heave of the fly ash-stabilised expansive clay liners were monitored. Deionised water (DIW) was also used as inundating fluid for comparative study. Heave (mm) decreased with increase in solute concentration for all fly ash contents. For a given solute concentration, heave decreased up to a fly ash content of 20 % and thereafter it increased when the fly ash content was increased to 30 %. Heave of the fly ash-stabilised expansive clay liners was correlated with their permeability, liquid limit (LL) and free swell index (FSI) pertaining to the respective fly ash content and CaCl₂ concentration.     

添加沸石对黏性土-膨润土竖向隔离墙材料压缩和渗透特性的影响

土-膨润土系竖向隔离墙广泛应用于工业污染场地和地下水修复工程。通过坍落度和一维压缩固结试验研究添加沸石对黏性土-膨润土竖向隔离墙材料的工作性,以及压缩和渗透特性。黏性土选用高岭土,沸石-高岭土-膨润土试样中沸石掺量为2%～40%。试验结果与以往沸石-砂-膨润土竖向隔离墙材料以及击实沸石-膨润土混合土研究结果进行对比,明确沸石掺量和粒径对压缩和渗透特性的作用规律。试验结果显示,满足隔离墙材料施工要求的含水率范围随沸石掺量增加而增大,并处于液限的0.96～1.18倍。添加细颗粒沸石对试样的压缩指数和渗透系数影响较小,渗透系数小于10-9 m/s。相反,添加粗颗粒沸石将导致微孔隙尺寸增大,并形成水能够通过的沸石网架结构,将显著增大渗透系数。试样渗透系数能够通过考虑孔隙比和液限的经验公式进行良好的预测。     

基于有机污染物扩散的复合衬垫厚度的概率设计

有机污染物在复合衬垫中的运移以扩散方式为主。目前关于运移参数不确定性及其对衬垫性能影响的研究还不多,复合衬垫厚度的设计也没有考虑不确定性的影响。总结了运移参数已有的成果,采用蒙特卡罗法研究了半无限条件下运移参数的变异性对衬垫底部污染物质量浓度和通量的影响,并对衬垫厚度进行了设计。研究表明:土工膜中有机污染物的分配系数和扩散系数的变异性对质量浓度和通量的影响可以忽略,而土中有机污染物的扩散系数和阻滞系数的变异性对其影响则非常显著。确定性方法计算的结果偏于危险,有必要加强对土中有机污染物的扩散系数和阻滞系数概率特性的研究。以甲苯为例进行黏土衬垫厚度设计,结果表明:概率计算方法得到的黏土衬垫厚度约为确定性方法的1.71~1.81倍,采用概率方法进行衬垫设计更合理。     

Physical and chemical behaviour of clay-based barriers under percolation with test liquids

A research and development-project is being carried out at the University of Braunschweig, West Germany, in which the permeability and durability of clayey liners for waste deposits are investigated.

Results of long-term permeability tests with different aggressive test liquids (distilled water, two organic and five inorganic test liquids) are shown and sample behaviour is explained.

Further the used test-liquids are analysed before and after percolation of the liner materials. Leaching or adsorption effects can thus be recognized.

After percolation the liner specimens are mineralogically investigated in order to obtain by comparison with water analyses, additional evidence on ion exchange processes, and thus on the long-term durability of the liner materials. The different analytical methods used are presented and important results are discussed.     

Impact of lead contamination on the engineering properties of clayey soil

Clay liners are widely used as barriers to arrest the migration of pollutants. These liners are subjected to leaching of various chemicals and hazardous wastes. Migration of heavy metals through the liner material may lead to changes in the soil properties and this, in turn, may affect the performance of liners. In this paper, the change in index and engineering properties of clayey soil due to migration of lead is presented. Pronounced changes in soil properties are noticed when the soil is contaminated with high concentrations of lead. The findings from the present study are important while designing liners in landfills used for containment of pollution due to heavy metals and hazardous wastes.     

Performance-based design of landfill liners

Factors affecting chemical transport in geomembrane, clay and composite liners are reviewed, and a simplified performance-based method for evaluating landfill bottom liners is presented. For single geomembrane liners, mass transport of inorganic chemicals is calculated from the leakage rate from holes for an assumed frequency of hole occurrence. Transport of organic chemicals is obtained by accounting for molecular diffusion through the intact geomembrane. Migration of inorganic and organic chemicals in compacted clay liners is calculated using a solution of the 1D advection–dispersion-reaction equation. For composite liners consisting of a geomembrane and a clay liner, 3D flow and transport of inorganic chemicals is approximated using an equivalent 1D model for transport through an effective area of transport. The approximation is based on results from 3D analyses that have been conducted for a variety of cases. Migration of organic chemicals through composite liners is calculated using a 1D diffusion model. Applicability of the method is illustrated by using it to evaluate the relative performance of several different liner systems.     

Kerman Clay Improvement by Lime and Bentonite to Be Used as Materials of Landfill Liner

Kerman province, located in the south eastern Iran, is dominated with clays which can be used in different projects. The liner system within a landfill is constructed to control leachate migration and can be constructed by low permeable natural soils or plastic lining materials, environmentally however, natural materials is preferred that usually need to be amended in order to meet requirements recommended by environmental agencies. This research examines the possibility of using the Kerman collapsible clay as a liner layer material. A set of laboratory test was conducted on pure soil samples and additive treated samples. The moderate collapse potential of the used soil is decreased with wet compaction and under the effect of additive-soil reactions. Laboratory investigations showed that lime and bentonite treatment improved the hydraulic conductivity. The results revealed hydraulic conductivities on the order of 10^?8 m/s. The obtained values met the 1.0E?07 m/s criterion required by Iranian standards. Unconfined compression tests were also performed on pure soil and additive amended samples. The unconfined compression strength values demonstrated gradual decreases with the addition of bentonite and considerable increases with adding lime such that with adding 1% lime the unconfined compression strength increased by 75%. This study verified that the Kerman collapsing clay can be used as a liner material using lime and bentonite as additives.     

Relative performance of lime stabilized amended clay liners in different pore fluids

Successful design of soil liner and covers for landfills and waste impoundments involves selection of liner material and assessment of chemical compatibility of the liner material. In this work locally available materials with different mineralogy have been evaluated from the viewpoint of liner application. Many local soils may not meet the requirements of liner material; often it is necessary to amend these soils with commercially available processed bentonite. Clay liners may be attacked by chemical waste or leachate, concentrated organic chemicals can attack compacted clay effectively destroying the characteristics of liner material. Thus the main aim of this work has been to assess the suitability of different types of locally available materials for their potential use as liners for waste containment facilities. The materials studied are kaolinitic red earth, illite and fly ash. Based on literature survey and experimental work in this laboratory, 20% by weight of bentonite has been chosen for amending selected materials. Addition of 20% bentonite to selected liner material improved the hydraulic conductivity and adsorption capacity of the amended mixture but, reduced the volume stability. To improve the volume stability of the amended material and to have better resistance towards chemicals attack, stabilizing the amended mixture with 1% by weight of lime has been considered. The relative advantages and disadvantages of four materials namely; red earth with 20% bentonite, illite with 20% bentonite, fly ash with 20% bentonite and illite alone, stabilized with 1% by weight of lime were brought out. The chemical compatibility of the materials to electrolyte solution (0.5 N NaCl), alkaline solution (0.5 N NaOH), acid (0.5 N HCl) and organic fluid (CCl₄) has been studied. The relative efficiency of the selected materials with selected pore fluids was compared.     

A study on contaminant migration of sugarcane effluent through porous soil medium

A significantly large volume of effluent is generated during the manufacture of sugar and contains high amount of pollution load. The effluent from sugarcane industry is disposed off on land moves into the wider environment through a number of routes and the soil itself retains the various contaminants in the effluent to a greater or lesser extent depending on the physical nature of the soil. The analysis of contaminant transport through soil used to design of industrial wastewater treatments and disposal systems. This paper discussed the adsorption and diffusion of cations calcium, magnesium, sodium and anions chloride and sulphate by the sorption diffusion permeameter under different hydraulic retentions time of 3 min, 13 min, 27 min and 58 min with a constant diffusion flow rate of 3.6 L/h. In this study, less percentage error found between observed adsorption and diffusion coefficients from the experiments at different hydraulic retentions time and optimum adsorption and diffusion coefficients from the experiments at optimum hydraulic retentions time of 30 min for calcium, magnesium, sodium, choloride and sulphate. The results of regression analysis implied that the adsorption and diffusion coefficients obtained from the equation for cations and anions were good recognizing with the experimental results.     

Nondestructive test to track pollutant transport into landfill liners

Over the last decade, waste disposal has become a particularly sensitive issue in Algeria. New legislation concerning landfill liner design has been adopted. Traditional methods of landfill liner characterization involve soil sampling and chemical analysis, which are costly, destructive and time-consuming. New techniques are currently being investigated that aim to provide nondestructive liner characterisation. This paper details technical aspects associated with electrical conductivity measurements within landfill liners and presents experimental work to show the direct application of electrical techniques to track ionic movement through a sand bentonite liner under chemically induced flow. Samples of sand bentonite were mixed and compacted with NaCl electrolytes at different concentrations. The electrical conductivities of compacted specimens were measured with a two-electrode cell. The effects of frequency and electrolyte concentration on the conductivity measurement were explored. The relationship between the soil electrical conductivity and the NaCl electrolyte concentration in interstitial pore fluid was determined. The conductivity measurements were used to quantify the pore fluid concentration and effective diffusion coefficient of sand bentonite liners. It is concluded here that the electrical conductivity of compacted specimens depends mainly on the salt concentration in the pore fluid, and that this approach could therefore be used to track ionic movement through liners during diffusion.     

The consolidation characteristics of an unsaturated compacted soil

The compacted soils are extensively employed as mineral liners or a sealing system, constructed under municipal solid waste and other containment hazardous materials to prevent or minimize the leakage of pollutant liquids and gases into ground water and sublayers. This article presents a detailed experimental study on settlement characteristics, which are required for the construction of a sealing system. For the experimental study where a compacted unsaturated soil taken from Adana in Turkey has been used, a special equipped consolidation cell has been designed and constructed. The matric suction adopted as independent stress-state variables has been controlled by using the axis translation technique. The consolidation tests have been performed under constant matric suction. Furthermore, the pressure plate tests for various net vertical stresses have been conducted. The test results have indicated that the settlement characteristics of a compacted soil as mineral liners and covers are highly affected by matric suction. The water retention capacity of mineral liners, an important factor for hydraulic conductivity, also changes with the vertical load. The compressibility decreases as the matric suction increases. It has been observed that there exists an exponential relationship between the compressive indexes (C _t, D _t) and matric suction.     

Hydraulic conductivity of remolded fine-grained soils versus index properties

Hydraulic conductivity is a dominant parameter in the design of engineered waste disposal facilities such as landfill liners and covers, lagoon liners and slurry walls. It is of interest to a geotechnical or geo-environmental engineer to develop a predictive method of determining the hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils, in order to assess its suitability as a liner material. To predict the hydraulic conductivity of soils, researchers and geotechnical engineers have attempted to correlate it with index properties of the soils, such as the liquid limit, void ratio and specific surface. Based on the present study a predictive method has been developed in this paper to predict the hydraulic conductivity in terms of void ratio and shrinkage index (Liquid limit – shrinkage limit) for remoulded fine-grained soils. Though the initial conditions for the soil will affect the hydraulic conductivity behaviour to some extent, both the void ratio and soil characteristics are primary factors in affecting the hydraulic conductivity. Therefore for predictive purpose, the study of hydraulic conductivity behaviour of remoulded fine-grained soils as presented in this paper can be found to be useful for compacted soils also.     

氨氮在黏土防渗层中渗透和运移规律试验研究

对太湖疏浚污染底泥中含有的一种主要污染物--氨氮在底泥堆场黏土防渗层中的渗透和运移规律进行了试验研究。在室内通过渗透模拟试验和动态土柱试验,测定了不同固结压力作用下黏土的渗透系数和弥散系数,通过静态吸附试验测定了黏土对氨氮的吸附系数。试验结果表明,底泥堆场下部的黏土防渗层对底泥中的氨氮具有较强的吸附和阻隔能力。