Susceptibility and defects from the active life of landfill geomembrane liners

Abstract: The useful/active life of geomembrane (GM) liners are largely reliant on their degradation rate viz-a-viz; the generation of wrinkles, cracks and holes in the liner. This is mostly due to exposure to the elements or by virtue of age as well as the level of leachate or gas leakage specific to a site. The active life of a GM liner in a landfill requires in-depth review of material degradation processes, physical damage and the development of holes by stress cracking. This study highlights the outcomes of a short-term laboratory investigation offering grounds on which projections on medium to long-term landfill liner behaviours can be monitored particularly in Johannesburg, South Africa. Laboratory model of a hole creation born from the active life of a GM liner is pinpointed. It is well known how electrical leak pointer surveys are effective ways of identifying holes caused by physical damage during liner installation and waste disposal, leading to the their repairs. So also is the degradation of the GM liner known as being dependent on the activation energy of the antioxidant depletion process and the oxidative resistance of the material including exposure conditions and limits. In cases where liners are exposed to long-term stresses, stress cracking triggers hole generation. Moreover, the rate of cracking increases once oxidation of the liner begins. As such, approaches to curb the creation of defects are addressed herein