Geotechnical Characterization of some Clayey Soils for Use as Landfill Liner

Waste management is one of the major challenges faced by municipality officials, public health engineers and environmentalists in their quest to protect and preserve our environment. Construction and operation of an engineered sanitary landfill ensures proper waste management with the protection of human and ecosystem health. This paper presents the results of geotechnical investigation carried out on clayey soils from three selected pottery areas in Oke Ogun, Oyo State; to assess their suitability for use as landfill liner. Samples were collected at three locations namely: Ajetunmobi village, sample A; Adegbite area, sample B; and Arigangan area, sample C. Basic index characterization tests conducted on the samples revealed percentage fines for samples A,B and C were 32.7%, 28.3% and 37.0% respectively. Specific gravity ranged between and 2 · 71 and 2 · 74. Sample A had Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) value of 10.58 milli-equivalents/100g (Meq./100g), sample B had CEC value of 11.76 (Meq./100g) and sample C had CEC value of 12.18 (Meq./100g) Geotechnical tests conducted on samples resulted in hydraulic conductivity (k) of 1.86 × 10^-10m/sec for sample A ; 4.12 × 10^-8m/sec for sample B and, 2.60 × 10^-10m/sec for sample C. The results obtained from the study show that sample A is the best material for a landfill liner based on the hydraulic conductivity criterion, however all the other samples are also useful and can be improved by addition of little percentage of bentonite. The compaction and compressibility characteristics needed in the specifications for the construction and operation of an engineered landfill using these clayey soils are presented.

Keywords
Landfill Liner; Waste management; Cation Exchange Capacity; Hydraulic conductivity; Geotechnical characterization