Evaluation of Granular Activated Carbon, Shale, and Two Organoclays for Use as Sorptive Amendments in Clay Landfill Liners
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 7
Abstract
Four materials with high sorptive capacities for organic compounds [granular activated carbon (GAC), shale, benzyltriethylammonium-bentonite (BTEA-bentonite), and hexadecyltrimethylammonium-bentonite (HDTMA-bentonite)] were evaluated for their use in compacted clay landfill liners by conducting laboratory sorption and permeability experiments with both a 0.002 N solution (to simulate the ionic strength of ground water) and a synthetic leachate. Results from equilibrium sorption experiments with 0.002 N indicate that all four amendments have a very high sorptive capacity for the three organic solutes tested: benzene, trichloroethylene, and 1,2-dichlorobenzene. GAC exhibited the highest sorptive capacity for all three solutes, followed by BTEA-bentonite, HDTMA-bentonite, and shale. Experiments conducted with synthetic leachate indicate that GAC and BTEA-bentonite did not exhibit competitive sorption effects with the synthetic leachate constituents, while shale did exhibit some competitive sorption effects between benzene and trichloroethylene and the synthetic leachate constituents. Permeability tests conducted on specimens composed of Ottawa sand, untreated bentonite, and either 3 or 9% amendment by weight were also performed. Results indicate that all amended specimens had a hydraulic conductivity less than or equal to , with the exception of the specimen amended with 3% GAC, which had a measured conductivity value of . Changing the permeant fluid to a synthetic leachate had little effect on the overall conductivity of the specimens. One-dimensional benzene transport simulations were performed to more completely evaluate how effective these materials would be if incorporated into a compacted clay liner. Simulations indicated that all proposed amendments would effectively retard the transport of benzene through the liner. Amending liners with 3 or 9% GAC or 3 or 9% BTEA-bentonite effectively eliminated benzene flux through the liner over a period. Liners amended with HDTMA-bentonite or shale also reduced the benzene flux exiting the liner over the simulation period, but to a lesser extent.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank Shawn Matott for his work in calibrating isotherm models to the sorption data, and Eric Anderson and Maryann Bogucki for aiding in the collection of laboratory data. Funding for one of the writers (S.B.-H.) was provided in part by the Department of Defense Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management, and the ARCS, Inc. Foundation.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 7 • July 2005
Pages: 848 - 856
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: May 6, 2004
Accepted: Dec 12, 2004
Published online: Jul 1, 2005
Published in print: Jul 2005
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