Longevity of 12 geomembranes in chlorinated water

Abstract

The long-term performance of geomembranes with 12 different resin–antioxidant master-batch combinations, including eight high-density polyethylene (HDPE), three linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and one blended polyolefin (BPO) base resins, is investigated. Results are reported for immersion tests in chlorinated water (0.5 ppm) for 35 months at 85 °C. The degradation trends show that the choice of resin type played a key role in the longevity of the geomembranes but also that some hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) packages contributed to better resistance to degradation in chlorinated water. The results show that the specific antioxidant package is more important than the initial oxidative induction time (OIT) in terms of long-term performance. Finally, it is shown that while increased thickness may be beneficial, a more resistant resin or antioxidant–stabilizer package can be more effective than increasing thickness in improving geomembrane performance in chlorinated water. The conclusion regarding the beneficial role of HALS is specific to chlorinated water and generally is not true in other cases of submerged or buried geomembranes.