Sludge as an Alternative to Cement for Canal Lining

Sustainability

This paper explores the feasibility of employing drinking water treatment sludge (WTS) mixed with soils, lime, or rock powder in geotechnical applications, as well as discusses the sustainability of the approach based on experimental results, aiming at the beneficial reuse of waste and the preservation of natural geomaterials. The selected materials were two soils largely used in earthworks, two WTSs, a high purity calcium hydrated lime, and rock powder from a granitic–gneissic quarry, all occurring in São Paulo State, Brazil. The mixtures were chemically, mineralogically, and geotechnically characterized, and the geotechnical properties permeability, shear strength, and deformability were investigated. Soil-WTS mixtures showed hydraulic conductivity (10−10–10−6 m/s, depending on soil and WTS), effective cohesion (10–30 kPa), friction angle (34°–40°), undrained strength (>50 kPa), and compression index (0.1–0.4) compatible with those of soils usually employed in earthworks. Lime:...

Materials Science Forum, 2021

A water treatment sludge (WTS) was characterized in order to evaluate if its properties would be suitable for use as liner of earthworks or for clayey soil strengthening. A WTS and a clayey soil was characterized in terms of granulometry, cumulative volumes, specific surface, density, plastic limit, liquid limit, water content, hydraulic conductivity, and characteristics of compaction (optimal water content and dry density). This study aimed to exhibit and evaluate these investigated parameters of WTS, soft soil and mixed proportions between the materials for liners’ material production while evaluating soft soils’ reinforcement feasibility. The results have shown WTS’s contribution with its fine granulometry and compaction characteristics, indicating filling properties and possible feasibility as soft soils additions for liners’ material production while being applicable for soil’s reinforcements, corroborating with existing literature on the subject. Thus, the currently developed investigation has exposed WTS as a potential addition for these applications while also attending society’s new demands towards a more sustainable future.

Frontiers in Environmental Science

Kuttanad region in Kerala, India, is a place that predominantly consists of soft soil formations with low shear strength and low water resistance rendering them problematic for construction purposes. Pavements constructed on such soft deposits have been subjected to structural rutting and the high erodibility of the in-situ soil necessitates the need to use suitable ground improvement techniques. The present environmental scenario demands the implementation of sustainable techniques for ground rejuvenation and effective stabilizers for enhancing engineering properties. This study investigates the amelioration of Kuttanad soft soil using chitosan as a soil amendment to improve its durability and erodibility characteristics. The untreated and chitosan-treated samples were exposed to 5 h of wetting cycle followed by 43 h of drying cycles until their failure. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of samples prepared with different dosages (0.5, 2, 4%) and cured for 14, 28, 60, and 9...

Water, 2020

Canal lining is commonly used to reduce seepage loss and increase water use efficiency. However, few studies have quantitatively estimated the seepage control effects of different lining materials under different service times. Ponding tests were conducted on the same canal section with four different lining statuses to investigate the canal lining effect on seepage control and its impact factors in arid areas. The cracks and holes in different lining materials were surveyed, and the canal seepage rates under the four test treatments were calculated by monitoring the water level change in the canal. The results show that the cracks in the joints of the two precast concrete slabs and holes in the geomembrane, which are located 0.25 m above the canal bottom on two sides of the canal, are responsible for the increased seepage loss. The new concrete and geomembrane lining combination reduces seepage by 86% compared with no lining, while seepage can be reduced by 68% using the concrete a...

The Open Civil Engineering Journal

Background: Clay-based and geosynthetic liners are generally used as hydraulic barriers in solid waste disposal facilities, mining tailing ponds, and soil-based wastewater treatment technologies, avoiding the leaching of hazardous compounds into subsoil and groundwater. Water treatment sludge (WTS) is a water treatment plant (WTP) residue which due to hydraulic properties seems to decrease the permeability in WTS:soil mixtures and may become an alternative material to produce sustainable waste-based liners. Objectives: This research aims to characterize and analyse physical, chemical and mechanical parameters of a WTS, a soft soil and four mixtures WTS:soil following 05:95%, 10:90%, 15:85%, 20:80% ratios, Thereby, evaluating the best ratio for producing waste-based liners for civil engineering applications. Methods: The geotechnical characterization was performed for particle size distribution, specific surface, specific gravity, Atterberg limits, and Normal Proctor compaction; chem...

Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2015

Lime treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) generates sludge that is commonly stored in ponds for dewatering. The use of soil-aged sludge-based mixtures for mine site rehabilitation can allow the emptying of existing basins, thus extending their storage capacity, reducing the volume of the borrow soil pit required for mine site rehabilitation, and consequently reducing the mine footprint. The authors investigated the geotechnical properties of silty soil–sludge mixtures (SSMs) as possible components of covers with capillary barrier effects (CCBEs) to prevent AMD generation from mine waste. SSMs with β values of 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% sludge (β = wet sludge mass / wet soil mass) were studied. Two water contents were considered for each of the mixture components: 175% and 200% for the sludge and 7.5% and 12.5% for the soil. Results indicate that saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) values were in the range of 10−5 cm/s for the soil and SSMs at void ratios ranging from 0.28 to 0.53, ...

Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2016

Lime treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) generates sludge that is commonly stored in ponds for dewatering. The use of soil-aged sludge-based mixtures for mine site rehabilitation can allow the emptying of existing basins, thus extending their storage capacity, reducing the volume of the borrow soil pit required for mine site rehabilitation, and consequently reducing the mine footprint. The authors investigated the geotechnical properties of silty soil–sludge mixtures (SSMs) as possible components of covers with capillary barrier effects (CCBEs) to prevent AMD generation from mine waste. SSMs with β values of 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% sludge (β = wet sludge mass / wet soil mass) were studied. Two water contents were considered for each of the mixture components: 175% and 200% for the sludge and 7.5% and 12.5% for the soil. Results indicate that saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) values were in the range of 10−5 cm/s for the soil and SSMs at void ratios ranging from 0.28 to 0.53, ...

Cement and Concrete Research, 2004

The use of industrial wastes as construction materials represents an attractive alternative to landfill disposal of waste especially in small Caribbean islands where arable land is very scarce. In this paper, the physical and mechanical properties of concrete using Trinidad Arcelor Mittal electric arc furnace (EAF) slag as coarse aggregates were investigated. A total of five mixes were used, and for each, the fresh and hardened properties were determined. The concrete mixes were prepared using varied slag content to natural aggregate ratio. These ratios were 0.0, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0. The fresh and hardened properties evaluated were workability, fresh density, compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. In addition, the water absorption, specific gravity, abrasion resistance and mineralogical composition of the aggregates (limestone and EAF slag) were evaluated. The research revealed a significant improvement in the hardened properties of concrete made with EAF slag, namely the compressive, split and flexural strength of the samples. The results indicated that this improvement highly depended on the proportion of EAF slag used. It was also found that the physical properties of Arcelor Mittal EAF slag was significantly better that that of the crushed limestone, primarily in its strength/density ratio compressive and tensile strength as well as resistance to abrasion.

International Journal of Geomate, 2016

Landfills have been the most common methods of municipal solid waste disposal in developing countries. Landfill capping is a containment technology that forms a barrier between the contaminated media and the surface. Presently, the commonest capping materials for landfills are sandy material and laterite soil. The permeability and the strength of the material against slope failure are among the important parameters to be considered. The objective of this research was to study the suitability of silt from Ulu Kinta dam in Malaysia and sludge (domestic wastewater sludge and water treatment sludge) as alternative materials for landfill capping. Both materials have little commercial values in Malaysia to date. The two materials were mixed with varying proportions of pure silt, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% of the sludge. Investigations were made on the hydraulic conductivity and physical properties of the mix. The results showed that silt material has a moderate hydraulic conductivity with k of value 4.81x10-4 cm/s, poor cohesion strength, 7.64 kN/m 2 and good friction angle, 36.2°. Sewage sludge has the best properties among the three materials, good hydraulic conductivity with k of 2.07x10-6 cm/s, moderate cohesion strength, 8.95 kN/m 2 and very high friction angle of 45.7°. Water treatment sludge's hydraulic conductivity, k was 2.9x10-6 cm/s which is good, but having poor cohesion strength and friction angle of 6.16 kN/m 2 and 6.1°, respectively. Silt and sludge were also mixed to test whether the method improves the properties of the final product; the result was negative. The use of 100% sewage sludge exhibited better results than others.

Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 2013

The Sewage Treatment Plants (ETE) generates as by-products large amounts of sludge containing harmful elements to the environment. This paper investigates the possibility of using 10% of sewage sludge by weight in pavement base layers. The soil stabilization technique was used to improve the residue properties to satisfy minimum requirements for road bases. The intent of this stabilization technique was to use conventional additives as cement, lime and emulsion. The main objective was focused on evaluating the strength behavior of the modified soil. Sludge-soil mixtures with different additive contents (2, 4, 6 and 8%) were prepared for testing. The modified soil samples were subjected to compaction, and then tested for the following parameters: