Impacts of Addition of Palm Kernel Shells Content on Mechanical Properties of Compacted Shale Used as an Alternative Landfill Liners

Abstract

The design of landfill liners of waste disposal to reduce migration of leachate containment, low swelling, and shrinkage and ensure sufficient shear strength to resist bearing capacity and instability of the landfill has been a major challenging task to landfill engineers. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in research on the stability of substitute materials as liners that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and socially beneficial due to the growing cost of traditional landfill liners. In this regard, geotechnical tests were conducted on shale samples treated with 0–12% (increment of 2%) of palm kernel shell ash (PKSA) and pulverized palm kernel shell (PPKS) to evaluate their suitability as alternative landfill liners using West African Standard (WAS) and Modified AASHTO Standard (MAS) for compactive energy. The shale has more percentage of finer fractions, thus classified as poorly graded soil (A-7-5). The Atterberg limit tests show that liquid and plastic limits decrease with an increase in plasticity index as the percentage of addition of PKSA and PPKS content increases. The results also established that the maximum dry density (MDD), volumetric shrinkage strain (VSS), and hydraulic conductivity significantly decrease, while the optimum moisture content (OMC) increases as the content of PKSA and PPKS increases at both compactive efforts. The maximum strengths of 380.30 and 448.70 kPa were obtained at 4% of both stabilizers. From the results, it can therefore be concluded that the treated compacted shale meets the condition of the suitability of landfill liners. Furthermore, with the use of industrial and agricultural wastes such as palm kernel shells as replacement materials with natural soils used as liners, significant social, economic, and environmental impact of landfills and reduction in wastes can be achieved. The research results can provide a reference for similar conditions of landfill liners worldwide.