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Geotechnical Assessment of Crushed Shales from Selected Locations in Nigeria as Materials for Landfill Liners

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Abstract

Crushed shales obtained from two locations (Ahoko, Bida basin and Ifon, Dahomey basin) in Nigeria were evaluated to determine their suitability as compacted landfill liners. The shale samples were subjected to X-ray diffraction, hydraulic conductivity, classification, compaction, consolidation and cation exchange capacity tests. The result of the XRD revealed kaolinite and illite as the major clay minerals while quartz was the dominant non-clay minerals. The average CEC of Ifon and Ahoko shales was 5.37 and 8.34 mEq/100 g, respectively. The liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity index of crushed Ifon shales ranged from (33.9 to 37.4%), (25.2 to 27.2%) and (8.6 to 10.2%) while the Ahoko shales ranged from (44 to 46.4%), (26.3 to 27.4%) and (16.6 to 19.6%), respectively. In addition, the estimated activity of the clay fractions of the two shales ranged from 0.41 to 0.51, suggesting inactive clays. The compacted shales have low compressibility and when compacted at modified Proctor level of compaction. At molding water content between optimum moisture content (OMC) ±2%, the hydraulic conductivities of the compacted shale were in the order of 10−6–10−7 cm/s when compacted at modified Proctor level. At OMC, hydraulic conductivities of the compacted shales were in the order of 10−7 cm/s when exposed to different concentration of calcium chloride solutions. Overall, the crushed shale samples from Ahoko and Ifon generally fulfilled the basic geotechnical properties for compacted clay liners.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Professor Edil T.B and the reviewers for the valuable comments and helpful suggestions during the paper review process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Ekiti State University Ado-Ekiti, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

    L. O. Afolagboye, A. O. Talabi & Y. C. Ajisafe

  2. Department of Applied Geology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

    S. Alabi

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Correspondence to L. O. Afolagboye.

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Afolagboye, L.O., Talabi, A.O., Ajisafe, Y.C. et al. Geotechnical Assessment of Crushed Shales from Selected Locations in Nigeria as Materials for Landfill Liners. Geotech Geol Eng 35, 1847–1858 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-017-0213-0

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