Contaminant migration and the retention behavior of a laterite–bentonite mixture engineered barrier in a landfill

Groundwater pollution has become increasingly severe in recent years, particularly owing to leachate leakage in landfills. In this study, the migration of Cu2+ in a landfill and the retention behavior of a compacted laterite-bentonite engineered barrier system toward the contaminant were analyzed by a numerical simulation based on laboratory and field test results. The results show that the hydraulic conductivity of the laterite–bentonite mixture decreased with an increase in the bentonite ratio: The hydraulic conductivities of the laterite–bentonite mixture were 4.718 × 10−7, 2.103 × 10−7, 7.899 × 10−8, 3.918 × 10−8, and 1.614 × 10−8 cm/s when the bentonite ratios were 0, 2%, 5%, 10%, and 20%, respectively. The hydraulic conductivity of laterite and of the mixture with a bentonite ratio of 2% decreased gradually under infiltration of deionized water and CuSO4 solutions with concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 mol/L. This could be attributed to the increased degree of flocculation of laterite with the increase in the solution concentration. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the migration range of Cu2+ after 3650 days was approximately 1500 m. The retention efficiency of a 0.5 m engineered barrier for Cu2+ was 67%. However, the retention efficiency exceeded 83% when the engineered barrier thickness was increased to 1.0 m. The results of the laboratory tests and numerical simulation demonstrate that a compacted laterite–bentonite engineered barrier system has a good retention effect on Cu2+. These observations may provide effective concepts for the prevention and control of groundwater pollution in landfills. •Cu2+ retention behavior of a laterite-bentonite engineered barrier in landfill was investigated.•The hydraulic conductivity of the barrier decreased with an increase in the bentonite ratio.•The hydraulic conductivity of the mixture decreased with concentration of CuSO4.•The retention efficiency exceeded 83% when the engineered barrier thickness was increased to 1.0 m.