HDPE Geomembranes for Environmental Protection: Two Case Studies

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes have been used for different applications in engineering including sanitation, such as landfills and waste liquid ponds. For these applications, the material can be exposed to aging mechanisms as thermal and chemical degradation, even to UV radiation and biological contact, which can degrade the geomembrane and decrease the material’s durability. This paper aims to present an experimental evaluation of two exhumed HDPE geomembranes, the first was used for 2.75 years in a sewage treatment aeration pond (LTE sample) and another was used for 5.17 years in a municipal landfill leachate pond (LCH sample). Physical and thermal analyses were used such as thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanic analysis (DMA). The thermogravimetric analyses showed significant changes in the LCH sample’s thermal decomposition probably caused by the interaction reactions between the polymer and the leachate. For the DSC analyses, the behavior seen in the LTE sample was not observed in the LCH sample. In the DMA analyses, the behavior of the LTE sample storage module shows which LCH sample is less brittle. The LTE sample presented low stress cracking resistance and low tensile elongation at break, following the DMA results.