Removal of Pb^(2+) and Cd^(2+) by adsorption on clay-solidified grouting curtain for waste landfills

Pb2+ and Cd2+ in leachate were adsorbed on clay-solidified grouting curtain for waste landfills with equilibrium experiment. The cation exchange capacity was determined with ammonium acetate. And the concentration of heavy metal cations in leachate was determined with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Their equilibrium isotherms were measured, and the experimental isotherm data were analyzed by using Freundlich and Langmuir models. The results show that the adsorption capacities of the heavy metal cations are closely related to the compositions of clay-solidified grouting curtain, and the maximum adsorption appears at the ratio of cement to clay of 2∶4 in the experimental conditions. At their maximum adsorption and pH 5.0, the adsorption capacities of Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ are 16.19mg/g and 1.21mg/g. The competitive adsorption coefficients indicate that the adsorption of clay-solidified grouting curtain for Pb2+ is stronger than that for Cd 2+ . The adsorption process conforms to Freundlich’s model with related coefficient higher than 0.996.

Analysis on contaminants transport process through clay-solidified grouting curtain in MSW landfills

Clay-solidified grouting curtains are commonly used for remediation by containment or pollution prevention, in addition to their use as a barrier to water flow in municipal solid waste(MSW) landfills. A hydrological model.of water flow and a hydrodynamic model of contaminant are presented to simulate the migration of leachate through clay-solidified grouting curtain in MSW landfills, with particular attention paid to the role of diffusive and adsorptive fluxes in contaminant transport. The models were applied to simulate the sensitivity of the curtain's behavior to changes in parameters, such as thickness, depth, permeability coefficient, diffusion coefficient,resistance coefficient and concentration, and also to demonstrate the contaminant distribution on the evolution of travel time and offset distance of clay-solidified grouting curtain in landfills. It is found that a part of leachate components stays or is retarded in clay-solidified grouting curtain by precipitate or exchange, the retention rate is closely related to composition of clay-solidified grouting curtain, more than 800%, and the maximum occurs at the cementclay ratio of 2: 4 under experimental conditions. Contamination distribution is variable on travel time and offset distance, the highest concentration takes place where the contamination intensity is nearest to the pollution resource or takes place at early middle period of transport, and the pollutant attenuates gradually. The results indicate that claysolidified grouting curtain with a proper thickness, a low permeability coefficient and a high resistance coefficient might serve as a sufficiently effective vertical barrier against leachate seepage and contamination migration in MSWlandfills.