Geotechnical Characterization of soils for Use as Landfill Liner: A case study of soil samples from the Paynesville Sandstone and Farmington River Formation, Liberia

Authors(6) :-Y. C. Baysah, R. S. Ngumbu, A. K. Fayia, A. S. Moore, J. T. Toe Sr., J. K. Jallah Jr

In Liberia, waste management is one of the main challenges faced by municipal authorities, environmental technicians and public health practitioners in their quest to maintain a clean, safe and healthy environment. The construction and operation of a sanitary landfill ensures adequate waste management and, by extension, the protection of both the environment and human receptors. This study presents the results of geotechnical investigations conducted on soils from two sedimentary units of Liberia: Paynesville Sandstone and Farmington River Formation. The intent of the study was to assess the suitability of the soil for use as landfill liner. Three soil samples were collected from each of the two sedimentary units and, using B.S 1377 (1990), soils characteristics such as particle size distribution, permeability, liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index and hydraulic conductivity were measured and presented as mean values. Hydraulic conductivity of a sanitary landfill liner is the most important parameter to consider in materials selection. The results of hydraulic conductivity obtained from the study showed that only the samples from Farmington River Formation met the USEPA (1994) and CGRM (2007) requirement of ? 1x10-9 m/sec suitable for use as landfill liner. The mean soil permeability results for the Paynesville Sandstone and Farmington River Formation were 2.5 mL/hr and 0.05 mL/hr respectively; implying that the samples from the Paynesville Sandstone are more permeable and, thus, more susceptible to leaching and groundwater contamination if used as a bottom liner in a landfill design. Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that the sample from the Farmington River Formation is more suitable for use as a natural material for landfill liner. The quality of the sample should, however, be improved by addition of small amounts of bentonite.

Authors and Affiliations

Y. C. Baysah
College of Engineering, University of Liberia, Liberia
R. S. Ngumbu
Department of Compliance & Enforcement, Environmental Protection Agency, Liberia
A. K. Fayia
College of Engineering, University of Liberia, Liberia
A. S. Moore
College of Engineering, University of Liberia, Liberia
J. T. Toe Sr.
Department of Compliance & Enforcement, Environmental Protection Agency, Liberia
J. K. Jallah Jr
Department of Compliance & Enforcement, Environmental Protection Agency, Liberia

Landfill liner, Paynesville Sandstone, Farmington River Formation, Liberia

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Publication Details

Published in : Volume 4 | Issue 11 | November-December 2018
Date of Publication : 2018-11-30
License:  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Page(s) : 70-75
Manuscript Number : IJSRST18401113
Publisher : Technoscience Academy

Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X

Cite This Article :

Y. C. Baysah, R. S. Ngumbu, A. K. Fayia, A. S. Moore, J. T. Toe Sr., J. K. Jallah Jr, " Geotechnical Characterization of soils for Use as Landfill Liner: A case study of soil samples from the Paynesville Sandstone and Farmington River Formation, Liberia", International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology(IJSRST), Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X, Volume 4, Issue 11, pp.70-75, November-December-2018. Available at doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST18401113    
Journal URL : https://ijsrst.com/IJSRST18401113
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  • Canadian Government Report, Manitoba (CGRM),Technical Reference Document for Liquid Manure Storage Structures,"Compacted Clay Liners", February, 2007
  • Firdaus, G (2010) Management of Urban Solid Waste Pollution in Developing Countries International Journal of Environmental Research 4(4)
  • Giroud, J.P., Badu-Tweneboah, K., & Soderman, K.L. (1994). "Evaluation of Landfill Liners",Fifth International Conference on Geotextiles, Geomembranes and Related Products, Vol 3, pp981 - 986.
  • IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, United Kingdom 996 pp
  • J R. Philip (1992) Falling Head Ponded Infiltration; Water Resources Research 28(8):2147-2148
  • Jepson, C. P. (1984). Sodium Bentonite: still a viable solution for hazardous waste containment. Pollution Engineering, Vol. 50, pp 50- 53
  • Khajuria, A., Yamamoto, Y., & Morioka, T. (2010). Estimation of municipal solid waste generation and landfill area in Asian developing countries; Journal of environmental biology, 31 5, 649-54
  • Osinubi, K.J. and Amadi, A. A. Hydraulic performance of compacted lateritic soil-bentonite mixtures permeated with municipal solid waste landfill leachate. In: Transportation Research Board (TRB) 88th Annual meeting CD-ROM, 11-15th Jan., 2009, Washington DC, USA. Paper # 09-0620, pp 1-1
  • US Environmental Protection Agency (1994) Review of Liner and Cap Regulations for Landfills.
  • USEPA (1984) The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model, Volume 1. User's Guide for Version 1; "United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/530/SW-84-009
  • White, R. W., and Leo, G. W. (1969) Geologic reconnaissance in western Liberia: Liberia Geol. Survey Spec. Paper 1, 18 p., 1 pl., scale 1: 1,000,000. [1971]. --- [1971], Geologic summary of age provinces in Liberia: Geol., Mining, and Metall. Soc. Liberia Bull., v. 4 (1969-70), p. 96-106.
  • " target="_blank"> BibTeX
    |
  • Canadian Government Report, Manitoba (CGRM),Technical Reference Document for Liquid Manure Storage Structures,"Compacted Clay Liners", February, 2007
  • Firdaus, G (2010) Management of Urban Solid Waste Pollution in Developing Countries International Journal of Environmental Research 4(4)
  • Giroud, J.P., Badu-Tweneboah, K., & Soderman, K.L. (1994). "Evaluation of Landfill Liners",Fifth International Conference on Geotextiles, Geomembranes and Related Products, Vol 3, pp981 - 986.
  • IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, United Kingdom 996 pp
  • J R. Philip (1992) Falling Head Ponded Infiltration; Water Resources Research 28(8):2147-2148
  • Jepson, C. P. (1984). Sodium Bentonite: still a viable solution for hazardous waste containment. Pollution Engineering, Vol. 50, pp 50- 53
  • Khajuria, A., Yamamoto, Y., & Morioka, T. (2010). Estimation of municipal solid waste generation and landfill area in Asian developing countries; Journal of environmental biology, 31 5, 649-54
  • Osinubi, K.J. and Amadi, A. A. Hydraulic performance of compacted lateritic soil-bentonite mixtures permeated with municipal solid waste landfill leachate. In: Transportation Research Board (TRB) 88th Annual meeting CD-ROM, 11-15th Jan., 2009, Washington DC, USA. Paper # 09-0620, pp 1-1
  • US Environmental Protection Agency (1994) Review of Liner and Cap Regulations for Landfills.
  • USEPA (1984) The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model, Volume 1. User's Guide for Version 1; "United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/530/SW-84-009
  • White, R. W., and Leo, G. W. (1969) Geologic reconnaissance in western Liberia: Liberia Geol. Survey Spec. Paper 1, 18 p., 1 pl., scale 1: 1,000,000. [1971]. --- [1971], Geologic summary of age provinces in Liberia: Geol., Mining, and Metall. Soc. Liberia Bull., v. 4 (1969-70), p. 96-106.
  • " target="_blank">RIS
    |
  • Canadian Government Report, Manitoba (CGRM),Technical Reference Document for Liquid Manure Storage Structures,"Compacted Clay Liners", February, 2007
  • Firdaus, G (2010) Management of Urban Solid Waste Pollution in Developing Countries International Journal of Environmental Research 4(4)
  • Giroud, J.P., Badu-Tweneboah, K., & Soderman, K.L. (1994). "Evaluation of Landfill Liners",Fifth International Conference on Geotextiles, Geomembranes and Related Products, Vol 3, pp981 - 986.
  • IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, United Kingdom 996 pp
  • J R. Philip (1992) Falling Head Ponded Infiltration; Water Resources Research 28(8):2147-2148
  • Jepson, C. P. (1984). Sodium Bentonite: still a viable solution for hazardous waste containment. Pollution Engineering, Vol. 50, pp 50- 53
  • Khajuria, A., Yamamoto, Y., & Morioka, T. (2010). Estimation of municipal solid waste generation and landfill area in Asian developing countries; Journal of environmental biology, 31 5, 649-54
  • Osinubi, K.J. and Amadi, A. A. Hydraulic performance of compacted lateritic soil-bentonite mixtures permeated with municipal solid waste landfill leachate. In: Transportation Research Board (TRB) 88th Annual meeting CD-ROM, 11-15th Jan., 2009, Washington DC, USA. Paper # 09-0620, pp 1-1
  • US Environmental Protection Agency (1994) Review of Liner and Cap Regulations for Landfills.
  • USEPA (1984) The Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) Model, Volume 1. User's Guide for Version 1; "United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/530/SW-84-009
  • White, R. W., and Leo, G. W. (1969) Geologic reconnaissance in western Liberia: Liberia Geol. Survey Spec. Paper 1, 18 p., 1 pl., scale 1: 1,000,000. [1971]. --- [1971], Geologic summary of age provinces in Liberia: Geol., Mining, and Metall. Soc. Liberia Bull., v. 4 (1969-70), p. 96-106.
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