An investigation into contaminant transport processes through single-phase cement–bentonite slurry walls

Abstract

Cement–bentonite walls are commonly used for remediation by containment or pollution prevention, in addition to their use as a barrier to water flow in more conventional construction. The results from an investigation of an in situ single-phase cement–bentonite slurry wall are detailed, with particular attention paid to the role of advective and diffusive fluxes in contaminant transport. The wall under investigation was installed, using standard methods and with a normal mix design, in August 1995 in order to contain leachates arising from ‘piggy-backing’ of an existing ‘dilute and disperse’ landfill site. In September 1998, the wall was investigated during which the top of the wall was exposed at adjacent locations allowing the drilling of three boreholes using rotary coring techniques. Core recovery and quality were high and samples obtained during coring were retained for testing in the laboratory. The material recovered was quite strong and not treatable by conventional soil testing and preparation techniques. In addition, the material was susceptible to drying upon exposure to the atmosphere, with an accompanying loss of structure. In spite of this, meaningful laboratory tests were undertaken. Hydraulic conductivity of the samples was measured using constant flow-rate methods and the relative importance of the diffusive flux was investigated using a variety of simple techniques. The advective flux was found to be the dominant contaminant transport process. The results of the laboratory test programme are presented and placed in the context of the long-term performance of cement–bentonite slurry walls.