Ujjain clay as low-cost sealant and liner for artificial ponding and bentonite alternative

摘要

Synthetic and natural clay (bentonite) liners are commercially used to protect leakage from a variety of earthy pending and containments in order to conserve water and for the wastewater not to contaminate the groundwater, The present study evaluates the sealant property of the local clay hitherto used intensively in the manufacture of earthenwares, bricks, smearing materials and sealant in roof cracks. Extensive deposits of fluvial sediments occur along the bank of River Kshipra in and around Ujjain situated on Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh. Field-collected clay samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction and ethlylene glycol treatment (EGT), and compared with standard bentonite procured from Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation. The X-ray diffraction profile analysis with basal reflection (001) at 14 degrees to 15 degrees clearly confirmed the identification of smectite group of the clay under study. The EGT substantiated the presence of smectite in the Ujjain clay as well as in the standard bentonite, which is diagnostic to the swelling property of the clay. The overall study thus characterizes the potentiality of Ujjain clay as a mineral-based hydraulic barrier material and a component of natural liner in surface-water impoundments and lagoons. [References: 8]