Variability in Membrane Behavior of Geosynthetic Clay Liners: Fid-Bau Portal

Variability in Membrane Behavior of Geosynthetic Clay Liners

Polat, Fatih / Rahman, Sayed A. B. / Sample-Lord, Kristin / Yesiller, Nazli / Hanson, James L. / Malusis, Michael A.

Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) comprising sodium bentonite (NaB) have been shown to exhibit significant membrane behavior, whereby contaminants are restricted from passing through the clay due to electrostatic repulsion, potentially enhancing long-term containment performance. Recent membrane behavior research has focused on evaluating membrane efficiency (ω) of enhanced bentonites (e.g., bentonite polymer composites) and testing under more complex conditions (e.g., elevated temperatures and unsaturated conditions), often drawing comparisons with earlier published data on NaB-GCLs. However, the validity of comparing NaB-GCL results across studies and from earlier work remains unclear. No prior study has evaluated the variability in reported ω values for the same type of NaB-GCL manufactured in different years. In this study, multistage membrane behavior tests were performed on specimens of the same NaB-GCL type manufactured at different dates. One specimen (GCL1) was taken from a NaB-GCL roll manufactured in the last five years. Another specimen (GCL2) was taken from a NaB-GCL roll that had been stored in a laboratory since 2005. Values of ω were measured for both specimens and also compared to results reported in 2002 for the same type of NaB-GCL (GCL3). To support interpretation of the results, cation exchange capacity, mass per unit area, and swell index tests also were performed. For the same salt solution concentrations, GCL2 exhibited significantly lower ω than GCL1 and GCL3. Lower values of ω corresponded to lower bentonite mass per unit area. The results have important implications regarding limitations in comparing results of current membrane behavior research on enhanced materials and testing conditions to commonly cited literature data.