Development of Ilmenite Mud as Liner Material

Industrialization has resulted in the rapid improvement of standards of living however it has also resulted in the generation of huge quantities of waste. In India, the sources of industrial waste are food industry, thermal power plants, pulp and paper industry, chemical industry, etc. In the current work an effort is made to use Ilmenite mud which is a by-product of the titanium industry, in the development of liner. By doing so it provides double advantage of waste management and the development of cost effective liner. The safe disposal of waste material in landfills with the separation of the waste from the surroundings needs engineered solutions. Generally, low permeability soil is used as liner for landfills thereby it could withstand infiltration of the developed leachate to the surrounding area. Adding an adequate amount of bentonite to soil will decrease the permeability and can enhance mechanical stability of the soil. By mixing ilmenite mud and locally available soil along with bentonite in various proportion a desired liner with low permeability and sufficient unconfined compressive strength is developed. The Atterberg limit of the developed mix is also determined.