Chemical resistance and transmissivity of nonwoven geotextiles in waste leachate solutions

Eight types of polyester (recycled or new) and polypropylene (PP) nonwoven geotextiles to be generally used in Korean waste landfills were adopted as test materials. The modified EPA 9090 test method was applied to compare the chemical resistance in pH 3, 8 and 12 solutions and waste leachate solution. The immersion conditions were 30–180 days at 25, 50, 80 °C, respectively. Chemical resistance of these nonwoven geotextiles was estimated by the average retention of tensile properties after exposure in the above chemical solutions. Finally, transmissivity of the geotextiles for drainage were slightly decreased in pH 3 and pH 8 solutions but clearly decreased in the strong alkaline solution, pH 12.