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Characterization of water repellency for hydrophobized grains with different geometries and sizes

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Abstract

Capillary barrier cover systems (CBCSs) are useful and low-cost earthen cover systems for preventing water infiltration and controlling seepage at solid waste landfills. A possible technique to enhance the impermeable properties of CBCSs is to make water repellent grains by mixing the earthen cover material with a hydrophobic agent (HA). In this study, six different grains with different geometries and sizes were used to prepare dry hydrophobized grains by mixing with different contents of oleic acid as a HA. Wet hydrophobized grains were prepared by adjusting the water content (θ g; kg kg−1) of dry hydrophobized grains. To characterize the water repellency (WR) of dry and wet hydrophobized grains, initial solid-water contact angles (α i) were measured using the sessile drop method (SDM). Based on SDM results from the α i–HA content and α i–θ g curves, useful WR indices were introduced as “Area_dry” and “Area_wet” (areas under the α i–HA content and α i –θ g curves, respectively), “HA_zica” and “θg_zica” (maximum HA content and θ g at which WR disappears, respectively), and “αi,peak” and “HA_αi,peak” (peak α i in the α i–HA content curve and corresponding HA content to α i,peak, respectively). Pearson correlation analysis was performed to identify correlations between proposed WR indices and basic grain properties. Results showed that WR indices correlated well to d 50 and coefficient of uniformity (C u) and regression equations for WR indices were obtained as functions of d 50 and C u (r 2 > 0.7).

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Abbreviations

CBCSs:

Capillary barrier cover systems

HAs:

Hydrophobic agents

OA:

Oleic acid

SDM:

Sessile drop method

WR:

Water repellency

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Acknowledgments

This research project was supported by a Grant from the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (“SATREPS”) Project. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. S. Subedi, Department of Civil Engineering, Himalayan Institute of Science and Technology, Purbanchal University, Kathmandu, Nepal, and Dr. Tusheng Ren, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, for providing us published data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    N. Senani Wijewardana, Ken Kawamoto & Toshiko Komatsu

  2. International Institute for Resilient Society, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    Ken Kawamoto

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Ålborg, Denmark

    Per Moldrup

  4. Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    L. Chandana Kurukulasuriya

  5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka

    Nadeej H. Priyankara

Authors
  1. N. Senani Wijewardana
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  2. Ken Kawamoto
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  3. Per Moldrup
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  4. Toshiko Komatsu
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  5. L. Chandana Kurukulasuriya
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  6. Nadeej H. Priyankara
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Correspondence to N. Senani Wijewardana.

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Wijewardana, N.S., Kawamoto, K., Moldrup, P. et al. Characterization of water repellency for hydrophobized grains with different geometries and sizes. Environ Earth Sci 74, 5525–5539 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4565-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4565-6

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