EVALUATION OF KAOLINITE>CONTAINING CLAY AS A POTENTI AL MINERAL LINER FOR LANDFILL LEACHATE CONTAINMENT

A kaolinite-containing clay is subjected to laboratory tests to assess its potential use as a mineral liner for landfill leachate containment. Taken from the Bodelva china clay pit, the sample was shown to pass all the regulatory requirements needed to be considered suitable for use as a mineral liner. With recent research (Batchelder et al., 1996), showing that smectite clay minerals are susceptible to c-axis contraction when in the presence of potassium and ammonium ions, and that more inert clay minerals such as kaolinite remain unaffected, the use of kaolinite-containing clays instead of a clay matrix dominated by higher swelling clay minerals could become increasingly popular.