Carbon Footprint Evaluation of Clay Liner Options at a Coal Combustion Residual Disposal Facility

摘要

Geosynthetics are playing an increasingly more important role in environmental and geotechnical applications as local sources of natural barrier and drainage materials diminish. While much work has already been devoted to comparing the technical effectiveness of geosynthetics to natural soils, there has been relatively little study into the comparative energy efficiencies and sustainability of geosynthetics and soils. This paper presents a quantitative carbon footprint comparison between a traditional compacted soil liner and a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) for a coal combustion disposal facility constructed in the southeastern United States in early 2011. Because transporting soil material is such a large component of the carbon footprint, the distance to the clay borrow source is a significant parameter in determining equivalency in energy consumption.