Membrane behavior of bentonite-amended compacted clay towards Zn(II) and Pb(II)

Zinc and lead pollution are public environmental issues that have attracted lots of attention for a long time. Landfill leachate contains heavy metals, such as Zn(II) and Pb(II), which are usually related to thepollution of groundwater, especially in developing countries. Bentonite has been proven to be effective in enhancing the membrane property of clay, by which landfill liners can have better barrier performance towards the migration of contaminants. In this study, 5% sodium bentonite amended with locally available Fukakusa clay was utilized to evaluate the membrane behavior towards the heavy metals zinc and lead. The chemico-osmotic efficiency coefficient, <I>ω</I>, was obtained through Zn(II) and Pb(II) solutions with different concentrations of 0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 50 mM. According to the results,