Analytical Solution for One-Dimensional Diffusion of Organic Pollutants in a Geomembrane–Bentonite Composite Barrier and Parametric Analyses
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 1
Abstract
Geomembrane–bentonite composite barrier is known as one of the most reliable and effective technologies for containing underground contamination. Analytical solution for one-dimensional diffusion of an organic solute in the three-layered composite barrier is presented for the case in which the barrier is keyed in aquitard. Parametric analyses were conducted to investigate the effects of partition coefficient and installation location of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane, retardation factor, and thickness of bentonite slurry wall on the barrier performance using this analytical solution. The analysis results demonstrate that the containment performance of the composite barrier depends much on the partition coefficient of HDPE geomembrane over the target pollutant. The HDPE geomembrane exhibits an excellent resistance to the hydrophilic organics, which have a low partition coefficient. However, the hydrophobic organics, which have a high partition coefficient, can diffuse readily through the HDPE geomembrane. It is found that there is a special value of partition coefficient (i.e., ) at which a peak value was calculated for the mass flux through the composite barrier and a minimum value for the breakthrough time. The containment performance of the composite barrier can be enhanced by 10–20% by choosing an optimal installation location of HDPE geomembrane. An increase in the retardation factor of the bentonite results in a delay in the occurrence of the stable mass flux, but does not change its magnitude. An increase in the wall thickness not only delays the occurrence of the stable mass flux, but also significantly reduces its magnitude.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to appreciate the support of the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China Program 863 (Project No. 2012AA062601) and the National Natural Science Foundation of major international cooperation projects (Project No. 51010008).
References
Bartelt-Hunt, S. L., Culver, T. B., Smith, J. A., Matott, L. S., and Rabideau, A. R. (2006). “Optimal design of a compacted soil liner containing sorptive amendments.” J. Environ. Eng., 769–776.
Chen, Y. M., Xie, H. J., Ke, H., and Tang, X. W. (2006). “Analytical solution of one-dimensional diffusion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through composite liners.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 28(9), 1076–1080 (in Chinese).
Environmental Protection Agency. (1998). Evaluation of subsurface engineered barriers at waste sites, Cincinnati, 11–23.
Foose, G. J. (2002). “Transit-time design for diffusion through composite liners.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 590–601.
Haxo, H. E. (1990). “Determining the transport through geomembranes of various permeants in different applications.” ASTM Special Technical Publication 1081, ASTM, Philadelphia, 75–94.
Islam, M. Z., and Rowe, R. K. (2009). “Permeation of BTEX through unaged and aged HDPE geomembranes.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1130–1140.
Kalbe, U., Müller, W. W., Berger, W., and Eckardt, J. (2002). “Transport of organic contaminants within composite liner systems.” Appl. Clay Sci., 21(1), 67–76.
Li, Y. C., and Cleall, P. J. (2010). “Analytical solutions for pollutant diffusion in double-layered porous media.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1542–1554.
Malusis, M. A., Maneval, J. E., Barben, E. J., Shackelford, C. D., and Daniels, E. R. (2010). “Influence of adsorption on phenol transport through soil–bentonite vertical barriers amended with activated carbon.” J. Contam. Hydrol., 116(1), 58–72.
McWatters, R., and Rowe, R. K. (2010). “Diffusive transport of VOCs through LLDPE and two coextruded geomembranes.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1167–1177.
Ministry of Environment Protection, State Statistics Bureau, and Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China. (2010). Announcement on promulgating the gazette on the first national census of pollution sources, Beijing.
Müller, W., Jakob, R., and August, H. (1998). “Solubilities, diffusion and portioning coefficients of organic pollutants in HDPE geomembranes: Experimental results and calculations.” Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Geosynthetics, Industrial Fabrics Association Int., Roseville, MN, 239–248.
Ogata, A., and Banks, R. B. (1961). “A solution of the differential equation of longitudinal dispersion in porous media.”, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.
Park, J. K., and Nibras, M. (1993). “Mass flux of organic chemicals through polyethylene geomembranes.” Water Environ. Res., 65(3), 227–237.
Rabideau, A., and Khandelwal, A. (1998). “Boundary conditions for modeling transport in vertical barriers.” J. Environ. Eng., 1135–1139.
Rowe, R. K. (2005). “Long-term performance of contaminant barrier systems.” Geotechnique, 55(9), 631–678.
Kosaric, N., Rowe, R. K., Centre, U. O. W. O., and Hrapovic, L. (1995). “Diffusion of chloride and dichloromethane through an HDPE geomembrane.” Geotechnical Research Centre, Univ. of Western Ontario, London, ON.
Rowe, R. K., Quigley, R. M., Brachman, R. W., Booker, J. R., and Brachman, R. (2004). Barrier systems for waste disposal facilities, 2nd Ed., Spon Press, Oxfordshire, U.K.
Rumer, R. R., and Mitchell, J. K. (1995). Assessment of barrier containment technologies: A comprehensive treatment for environmental remediation applications, National Technical Information Service, Alexandria, VA.
Sangam, H. P., and Rowe, R. K. (2001). “Migration of dilute aqueous organic pollutants through HDPE geomembranes.” Geotext. Geomembr., 19(6), 329–357.
Sangam, H. P., and Rowe, R. K. (2005). “Effect of surface fluorination on diffusion through a high density polyethylene geomembrane.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 694–704.
Shackelford, C. D. (1990). “Transit-time design of earthen barriers.” Eng. Geol., 29(1), 79–94.
Smith, J. A., and Jaffe, P. R. (1994). “Benzene transport through landfill liners containing organophilic bentonite.” J. Environ. Eng., 1559–1577.
Thomas, R. W., and Koerner, R. M. (1996). “Advances in HDPE barrier walls.” Geotext. Geomembr., 14(7), 393–408.
Vereš, J., and Orolínová, Z. (2009). “Study of the treated and magnetically modified bentonite as possible sorbents of heavy metals.” Acta Montanistica Slovaca, 14(2), 152–155.
Xie, H. J. (2008). “A study on pollutant transport in layered media and the performance of landfill liner systems.” Ph.D. thesis, Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
Zhang, K. N., Tian, Q. Y., Deng, F. Y., and Chen, Y. G. (2004). “Retardation capability of clay-solidified grouting curtain by column test.” J. Cent. South Univ., 35(3), 473–477.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2013
Accepted: Sep 16, 2013
Published online: Sep 18, 2013
Published in print: Jan 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 18, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.