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Environmental geotechnology:
an Indian perspective
1Sathiyamoorthy Rajesh PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
2Bendadi Hanumantha Rao PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of
Technology Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar, India
3Sekharan Sreedeep PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India
4Dali Naidu Arnepalli PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Madras, Chennai, India
1 2 3 4
Infrastructure development and industrialisation have led to an ever increasing demand for energy and tremendous
generation of industrial and municipal solid wastes in India. With indiscriminate human encroachments, the
impact of disasters such as rainfall-induced landslides, river/coastal erosion, flash floods and cloud bursts is quite
high. In order to minimise the harmful impact of these issues, there needs to be development of sustainable
optimal solutions, which are best suited to the regions concerned, employment of new construction materials like
geosynthetics and state-of-the-art techniques. As such, in dealing with such problems that have direct bearing on
geoenvironment, an interdisciplinary approach needs to be developed, which is the starting point of environmental
geotechnology as ‘applied science to research and resolve’. In view of this, this paper discusses a few key
geoenvironmental engineering issues and challenges pertaining to the Indian context.
Introduction
A growing population and rapid industrialisation without adequate
growth in basic infrastructure have imposed significant penalties on
the environment of India. There has been an ever-growing demand
for energy, unimaginable production of municipal and industrial
wastes, including e-wastes that are not safely contained, high
impact of both natural and man-made disasters due to unjustified
and unplanned human encroachments, and significant degradation
of the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases, leading to undesirable
global warming (IPCC, 2007; NIDM, 2009). While most of these
issues are the same all over the world, an inadequate level of
involvement for finding a sustainable solution makes environmental
geotechnology the subject of interest in the Indian context.
Therefore, geoenvironmental engineers in India have a predominant
role for outlining holistic and case-specific solutions to meet energy
demand, manage waste and water, mitigate and minimise disasters,
and produce a clean atmosphere.
Future growth of conventional energy sources is limited by
the availability of fossil fuels and undesirable impacts on the
environment associated with their usage (Balat and Kirtay, 2010;
Lior, 2008). There are several initiatives for clean energy from
sources, such as gas hydrate sediments, energy geostructures, coal
bed methane extraction, coal gasification, hydraulic fracturing for
gas extraction (‘fracking’), etc., that need an in-depth understanding
of the concepts of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering
in addition to hydrogeology (Reddy, 2013). All the above-
mentioned problems are quite complex in nature and may pose
unexpected challenges during execution. A systematic analysis of
various possible scenarios during implementation and risk analysis
become mandatory, which needs thorough involvement of
geoenvironmental engineers. Another branch of energy geotechnics
is to explore the possibility of subsurface geology for storing
captured greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, thereby mitigating
global warming (Baines and Worden, 2004; Gniese et al., 2014;
Kapila and Haszeldine, 2009; Zheng et al., 2015). This would
necessitate the study of thermo-hydro-mechanical-geochemical
behaviour of geomaterials under complex and extreme conditions of
energy capture or energy storage. Such complex interaction studies
are multidisciplinary and are becoming urgent in the Indian context,
due to the exponential growth in energy demand.
Another perturbing scenario in India is the indiscriminate disposal
and improper management of both municipal and industrial
wastes. There are several instances where uncontrolled waste
dumping sites have already caused severe impact on the
geoenvironment (Dwivedi et al., 2014; Kale et al., 2010; Rajput
et al., 2009). There need to be quick initiatives to safely convert
the unplanned surface waste dump sites into controlled disposal
sites, to minimise the further degradation of atmosphere, surface
1
Environmental Geotechnics
Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Environmental Geotechnics
http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/envgeo.14.00047
Paper 14.00047
Received 11/12/2014; accepted 04/09/2015
Keywords: geoenvironment/sustainable development/waste containment and
disposal system
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
and subsurface environment due to the pollution associated
with uncontained wastes and remediate the already polluted
groundwater. These engineering efforts need to be effectively
supplemented by the knowledge from interdisciplinary science
for finding a holistic solution. While significant efforts are
already in progress for safe containment of industrial wastes,
it still demands an observational corrective design approach
taking into account the modern synthetic materials and a careful
monitoring during implementation and execution stages. Further,
safe disposal and containment of nuclear wastes is a challenging
twofold geoenvironmental problem. In general, low- and intermediate-
level radioactive wastes are secured in near-surface disposal facilities
(NSDFs), whereas high-level radioactive wastes are contained
in deep geological repositories (DGRs) (USNRC, 2002; Wattal,
2013). Construction of both these facilities necessitates careful
design, stringent quality control, and vigilant monitoring that requires
the involvement of geoenvironmental engineering concepts and
engineers.
Uncontrolled human interventions, which disturb natural flow
paths and nature’s harmony, have drastically increased the
frequency and intensity of disasters associated with heavy rainfall
and runoff (Baioni, 2011; Ghosh and Mistri, 2015; Huong and
Pathirana, 2013; IPCC, 2014; Teang and Lim, 2010). India
receives moderate to high rainfall and has a huge source of surface
water to its advantage. However, unplanned human encroachments
and developments, including indiscriminate exploitation of hills,
as well as poor vegetation, and climate change have resulted in
reduced buffer capacity of subsurface, leading to rain-induced
instability of geostructures and widespread erosion of geomaterials
(Baioni, 2011; Choi and Cheung, 2013). This is further intensified
by frequently occurring flash floods, high-intensity rainfall and
cloud. Conventional solutions to mitigate rain-induced landslides
and river/coastal erosion have limitations in such adverse and
intense situations. It is a highly multidisciplinary hydrogeological
problem requiring a holistic solution. The potential of new
construction techniques with less disturbance and employing
modern synthetic materials need to be explored completely. This
research area would require systematic studies to develop real-
time early warning systems, evolve reliable design and execution
procedures, followed by timely corrective measures through
careful monitoring of the performance of geostructures used for
mitigating rainfall-induced landslides and/or river bank/coastal
erosion. In view of the above-mentioned issues, this paper aims to
highlight the critical geoenvironmental engineering issues and
challenges pertaining to the Indian context.
Sustainable solid waste management
Figure 1 shows the current scenario of annual waste generation in
India by various sources. Sustainable municipal solid waste
(MSW) and industrial waste management are one of the major
geoenvironmental challenges in developing countries like India.
The composition and the quantity of MSW forms the basis on
which the management system needs to be planned, designed and
operated. Although varieties of waste types are being generated
across India, by and large, MSW invites the major attention of
engineers. This is because MSW differs greatly with regard to the
composition and toxic nature compared with waste generated in
Western countries, apart from being voluminous in nature. The
composition of MSW at generation sources and collection points
200
160
120
175
102
60
52
80
40
0
35
24
17·814·514·5 12 11·5 11 10 65·6 5·5 4·5 4·5 430·15
CCR
Bagasse
CMW
MSW
SBFS
Rice husk
LSW
Jute bre
C&D waste
RWS
Iron tailing
GNSW
GMW
Waste gypsum
Plastic waste
Red mud
Hazardous waste
Lime sludge
Copper tailings
Zinc tailings
Plastic waste
CCR: Coal combustion residue
CMW: Coal mine waste
MSW: Municipal solid waste
SBFS: Steel and blast furnace slag
LSW: Limestone waste
RWS: Rice wheat straw
C&DW: Construction and demolition waste
GMW: Granite and marble waste
GNSW: Groundnut shell waste
Waste generation: Mt/year
Figure 1. The present scenario of waste generation in India by
various sources and a variety of industries
2
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
was determined on a wet weight basis, and it consists mainly of a
large organic fraction (40–60%), ash and fine-grained earth
material (30–40%), paper and plastic (3–6%), and glass and
metals (each <1%).
The per-capita generation rate of MSW in India ranges from 0·2
to 0·5 kg/d (CPCB, 2000, 2004). With increasing urbanisation
and changing lifestyles, Indian cities are now generating eight
times more MSW than in 1947. Further, per-capita generation
is estimated to increase at a rate of 1–1·33% annually (Shekdar,
1999). The sustainable solid waste management is complex not
only because of an increase in the waste generation rate but
also because of the issues related to safe disposal of waste and the
land needed for ultimate disposal (Idris et al., 2004; Pappu et al.,
2007). Although integrated/sustainable solid waste management
is employed and tested in many countries, these are yet to be
implemented in India, largely because their financial viability and
sustainability are still being tested (Sharholy et al., 2008). Recently,
a few cities in India have developed their own integrated/
sustainable solid waste management plans to reduce the waste, to
process the waste to generate energy, and to dispose of waste
residue in engineered landfills (FICCI, 2009). In Panki, an
engineered landfill located in Kanpur, India, one such initiative has
been successfully implemented. The technology used at Kanpur
landfill includes segregation and treatment at sites with less than
10% residual waste disposed of in the engineered landfill. The
wastes generated from Kanpur city were screened by rotary
trammels so as to separate large- (>100 mm) and small-size waste
particles (<100 mm). Small-size waste particles mainly contain
organic components, so are easily biodegradable and, hence, fit
for composting. In the process of composting, small-size waste
particles were kept in wind roses for 28 d after which the waste was
screened through a 4-mm sieve. Material of size less than 4 mm is
termed as pure compost and forms a major by-product, which is
subsequently commercialised as manure for agricultural purposes.
Particles larger than 4 mm after composting are used for energy
generation. Large-sized particles retained on rotary trammels
(>100mm size) are termed as ‘semi-finished refuse derived fuel’
(SRDF), which contains a higher percentage of moisture. Hence,
it needs to be passed through the dryer for reduction in moisture
content. Ballistics separator was used to separate inert and non-
combustible material like stones from the SRDF. The remaining
materials were burned/incinerated for energy generation. The
residue from the incineration process (termed as ash residue),
compost process and the inert materials were disposed of to
engineered landfill (Rajesh and Puniya, 2014).
The geotechnical properties of MSW are of prime importance for
the design and maintenance of engineered landfills. Heterogeneity
of waste adds complexity in evaluating the engineering properties
and, hence, in understanding the deformation behaviour of
MSW landfills. Even though there has been gradual increase in
the literature on the measurement of engineering properties of
MSW, because of a lack of a universal classification system and
test methods, it is difficult to interpret published results (Dixon
and Jones, 2005). Moreover, as the nature of waste generation and
its composition and management plans are site specific, the
properties of waste which are to be disposed of in landfill
will also be location specific and hence need to be critically
studied to understand the behaviour of Indian MSW landfill
facilities.
Apart from MSW, India also produces substantial quantities
of industrial wastes from numerous and varied sources across
the country. Figure 1 depicts the present scenario of industrial
waste generation in India. It can be noted that most industries
(e.g., aluminium, plastic, marble and granite industries) are
non-environmentally friendly as they do not comply with the
guidelines provided by the Ministry of Environment and
Forest (MoEF, 2009). The impact of the coal industry on the
environment includes issues such as land use, waste management,
water and air pollution. In addition to atmospheric pollution,
coal combustion produces millions of tons of by-products and
causes severe health effects. Further, flue-gas desulfurisation
sludge contains toxic metals such as mercury, uranium, thorium,
arsenic, and other heavy metals, which are hazardous to humans
and the environment. Studies of mine tailings have revealed that,
in addition to elemental contamination, operations create an acidic
environment (pH 6·2–6·3) around the area (Kumar et al., 1998;
Rai et al., 2012; Sawant and Thakur, 2011).
The disposal of waste is not only an arduous task and cost-
intensive, but managing the waste disposal sites is also
increasingly recognised for their impact on the geoenvironment
and climate. However, compared with MSW, dealing with
industrial wastes seems advantageous as a partial fraction of waste
can be recycled and reused. The concepts of reuse and recycling
have greater potential for achieving sustainable management of
industrial waste. For example, the construction industry and
geotechnical engineering are the two major sectors that have a
significant potential to consume the sizable amount of industrial
by-products such as fly ash, red mud, blast furnace slag,
construction and demolition waste (C&D), scrap tyres, and others.
Reuse of fly ash and slag is advantageous as they can reduce
the fast-depleting limestone; conserve fossil fuels like coal, oil
and gas (25–30%); save electrical energy (~15–20%); and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions (~1 t for each tonne used of fly ash).
Previous studies demonstrated that iron and steel slag poses no
meaningful threat to human health, plant life or the environment
(Julli, 1999; Wintenborn and Green, 1998) and can be employed
safely in the aquatic environment without influencing water
quality or aquatic life (HHRA, 2011; NSA, 2003). Past studies
have also focused on utilising biosolids such as municipal sludge
and dredged material for geotechnical projects (Arulrajah et al.,
2013a; Disfani et al., 2014; O’Kelly, 2005). Significant efforts
need to be made to research and gain confidence in the use of
such biosolids for geotechnical infrastructure projects in India.
The ever-growing infrastructure development in India, growing
at a significant rate of 10% per annum, has lead to generation
3
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
of tremendous quantities of C&D waste. According to TIFAC
(2001), new construction sites are generating 40–60 kg/m
2
, repair
and renovation of existing buildings are producing 40–50 kg/m
2
,
and demolition of structures are producing 300–500 kg/m
2
of
this waste. Several studies have been undertaken to analyse the
properties of recycled aggregates and to establish its suitability
for sustainable usage in civil and geotechnical engineering
applications (Sivakumar et al., 2004). Currently, it is being used
as a partial replacement of aggregate in structural concrete, fill in
drainage projects, sub-base material in pavements, and others
(Arulrajah et al., 2013b; Poon and Chan, 2006). Incidentally,
the component of material cost comprises nearly 40–60% of
the project cost in India (TIFAC, 2001). Hence, any material
waste generation has huge financial implications. So recycle
and subsequent usage of this waste by adopting suitable waste
management measures can save millions of rupees, apart from
reducing the demand for virgin construction materials whose
availability is becoming increasingly scarce. At present, only 50%
of C&D waste is being reused and recycled in India and the
remainder is mostly land filled. A study commissioned by TIFAC
(2001) reveals that 70% of the construction industry is not aware
of recycling techniques.
Development of environmentally acceptable methods of scrap/
waste tyre disposal is one of the greatest challenges that waste
management experts face today. Scrap tyres are non-degradable,
and because of their shape, quantity and compaction resistance,
they require a large amount of space for stockpiling and land
filling. Moreover, the concept of 3R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle)
is difficult to implement with waste tyres owing to their complex
nature, durability, varying size, numbers involved and different
dimensions. Recovering energy from waste tyres is a significant
way to reuse them as they are a high-grade energy source because
of their composition, that is, 85% carbon, 5% cord and 10% steel.
Thus, it can effectively be used as an alternative fuel in kilns.
Although disposal of scrap tyres in landfill has been banned in
many countries to save landfill space and avoid geoenvironmental
problems, they are generally reused, incinerated or disposed of in
engineered landfill in India. The usage of shredded scrap tyres
as construction materials in civil engineering has emerged as a
socioeconomic priority in many developed countries. In the recent
past, shredded tyres are being used as lightweight embankment
fill, lightweight retaining wall backfill, drainage layers for roads
and landfills, thermal insulation to limit frost penetration beneath
roads, insulating backfill to limit heat loss from buildings,
vibration damping layers for rail lines, and replacement for soil or
rock in other fill applications (ASTM, 2012; Bosscher et al.,
1997; Edil and Bosscher, 1994; Mashiri et al., 2015; Pierce and
Blackwell, 2002; Warith et al., 2004). Even though scrap tyres
have a potential of replacing the natural materials, its long-term
performance needs to be systematically studied further (Rowe and
McIsaac, 2005).
However, lack of standardisation, not listing types of waste that
can become partial substitutes for natural resource materials in the
Indian Standard Codes and/or the Schedule of Rates (SOR), poor
policy push, and lack of awareness are the key barriers for
effective utilisation of many of the waste types.
India is at an incipient stage with regard to the reuse of waste
materials ranging from domestic to industrial. For example,
although the country is massively recycling waste materials, a
study reported by the Institute of Customer Experience (ICE)
shows that it is annually losing 6·7 Mt of recyclable materials and
9·6 Mt of compost only because of absence of segregation of waste
at source. In addition, India is also losing 58 million barrels of oil
energy equivalent in residues of composting operations merely due
to the absence of waste to energy concept (ICE, 2013). Overall,
waste utilisation in India is considerably lower than its generation.
It is also evident that importance has been accorded only to those
waste types that are considered harmless to the environment
and climate. Of the remaining unutilised waste, a fraction of it is
scientifically disposed of into an encapsulating facility, while the
rest is dumped indiscriminately onto open dump sites.
In India, open, uncontrolled and poorly managed dumping of
MSW and industrial wastes is commonly practised, giving rise to
serious environmental degradation. More than 80% of MSW and
industrial wastes in cities and towns are directly disposed on low-
lying areas in an unsatisfactory manner, even though it is against
the guidelines proposed for final disposal (FICCI, 2009). In
addition, several disposal sites are devoid of a leachate collection
system or landfill gas monitoring and collection system that would
severely impact the geoenvironment (Gupta et al., 1998). Such
already existing disposal sites need to be safely converted into
controlled disposal sites at least by providing a proper capping
system. The proposed new landfills need to be carefully designed,
constructed and monitored strictly as per the guidelines provided
by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) (2000, 2009).
According to MoEF (2000), solid waste meant for final disposal
needs to be isolated from the subsurface by providing a suitable
lining system. The minimum liner specifications shall be a
composite barrier having 1·5-mm high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) geomembrane (GM) or equivalent, overlying 0·9m of soil
(clay or amended soil) having hydraulic conductivity not greater
than 1 × 10
−9
m/s. Similarly, the final cover shall have a barrier soil
layer comprising 0·6 m of clay or amended soil with hydraulic
conductivity less than 1 × 10
−9
m/s. The use of geosynthetic clay
liner (GCL) is also encouraged.
The factors which influence the longevity of geosynthetic liners
(GM/GCL) depend on the composition of the polymeric material
used for manufacturing, the method of handling, the construction
technique followed, chemical compatibility and the environmental
conditions that may prevail throughout its service life (Rowe et al.,
2004). Many efforts were made by researchers to evaluate the
service life of geosynthetic liner materials, using both field and
simulated laboratory experiments, by considering the most probable
selective degradation mechanism, but not the synergistic degradation
phenomena (Suits and Hsuan, 2003). However, in reality, the
4
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
combination of various potential degradation mechanisms may
prevail simultaneously. In view of the above, attempts must be made
to highlight the various mechanism(s) by which the majority of
geosynthetic liners degrade and study their long-term performance
under realistic field conditions (Abdelaala et al., 2014; Arnepalli
and Rejoice, 2012; Liu et al., 2013; Rajesh and Viswanadham,
2012; Rajesh et al., 2014; Viswanadham et al., 2012).
Role of nuclear energy for sustainable
development and strategies for safe
radioactive waste management
Because of economic growth, natural resource scarcity and
increase in population, there is a need to tap non-conventional
energy resources. The resources being used in India’s energy mix
for producing electricity are presented in Figure 2 (Bhardwaj,
2013). Even though hydro and coal-fired thermal power plants
remain the mainstay for electricity production, there is a huge
need to supplement India’s available energy resources with
additional resources to assure long-term energy security as well as
environmental protection.
The world over, nuclear power provides about 16% of electricity
through 440 nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity
of 361·582 GW. Today, 22 of the last 31 nuclear power plants
connected to the world energy grid have been built in Asia (Jain,
2004). In view of this, the nuclear power industry in India has
grown substantially over the past few decades and is the fifth
largest source of electricity generation.
India’s nuclear power programme commenced in 1969 with the
building of the twin reactor units of the Tarapur Atomic Power
Station, employing boiling water reactors. Presently, there are
19 nuclear power reactors in operation with a capacity of
4560 MW. The various processes of the nuclear industry lead
to the generation of low-, medium- and high-level radioactive
wastes (denoted as LLW, ILW and HLW), which are categorised
as hazardous (AERB, 2001; IAEA, 1994).
In the nuclear industry, utmost emphasis is laid to minimise
the waste generation at all stages of design, operation and
maintenance. In general, radioactive waste management involves
three principles: (a) dilute and disperse, (b) concentrate and
contain and (c) delay and decay. The disposal of LLW and ILW
is relatively easy as they can be disposed of in concrete trenches
at shallow depths called NSDFs. The extremely hazardous
high-level radioactive waste resulting from reprocessing plants
is less in quantity because of the closed fuel cycle adopted in
Indian nuclear reactors. Because of the presence of long-lasting
radioactive transmutation reactions, HLWs cannot be subjected to
similar disposal practices. Due to the hazardous nature of these
wastes, they are first calcinated to immobilise them and then
vitrified using borosilicate glass, sealed in stainless steel
containers (canisters), and stored for three to four decades in
engineered vaults under stringent surveillance. After sufficient
reduction of half-life and cooling, the waste-contained canisters
are to be transferred to the Deep Geological Repositories
(DGRs). In order to isolate the canisters from the surrounding
geoenvironment and to control the migration of radionuclides
from the canisters, both engineered multibarriers as well as
natural barriers have been considered (Komine and Ogata, 2004).
It is obvious that the present and future growth of the nuclear
industry require geoenvironmental engineers to research and
produce appropriate solutions for safe and efficient nuclear waste
management.
To minimise the migration of waste in NSDF, low permeable
compacted backfills are provided below the trenches, which act as
a barrier and ensure safe containment of radioactivity. These
structures are closely monitored over a period of time with the
help of boreholes and instrumentation laid out around these waste
Hydropower 21·69%
Thermal power 54·20%
Renewable
energy 10·94%
Gas
10·13%
Nuclear
power
2·77%
Figure 2. Installed energy mix in India as of 31 January 2011
5
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
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containment structures. All these tasks need to be studied by
geoenvironmental engineers for effective planning and execution.
Any liquid waste emerging from such containment needs to be
treated by various physicochemical techniques, which require a
thorough knowledge of environmental chemistry (Rowe et al.,
2004).
After reaching its full capacity, the NSDF needs to be secured
and isolated from the environment. One of the challenges
is to prevent rainwater interaction with the waste by providing
a multilayered cap over the disposal facility. The final
configuration and design of such a multilayered cover system is
case specific and essentially depends on the climatic conditions,
necessitating intense research. This cover system is a typical
example of a soil-atmosphere interaction problem where the
concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics play an important role.
The influence of rainwater on the erosion of surface layers,
infiltration of rainwater and desiccation during the summer
make it a complex geoenvironmental problem where alternate
wetting-drying cycles add to the ageing of geomaterials. Such
ageing may result in underperformance of the multilayer cover
system for which it was initially designed. Therefore, efforts are
required to design and monitor such facilities in order to gain
confidence before its final execution in the field.
Siting appropriate DGR and studying its geological characteristics
are highly complex, which needs well-planned in situ studies
complemented by laboratory characterisation and mathematical
modelling. Several such studies are under way in India for
handling the HLW produced (Mathur et al., 1998). The in situ test
for the assessment of the rock mass response and related fatigue
due to thermal load from disposed waste-contained canisters was
carried out at a depth of 1000 m in an abandoned section of Kollar
gold mine for a duration of 8 years. Laboratory investigations for
geochemical characterisation, rock mechanical characterisation and
finite element modelling of thermomechanical response in granite
were also conducted. As a whole, the investigations were mainly
focused on the development of methodology for assessment of
thermomechanical behaviour of the host rock and to develop
and validate the mathematical models (Mathur et al., 1998). As far
as waste conditioning is concerned, metallic melter technology and
ceramic-based technology is pursued for HLW (Misra, 2011).
In order to demonstrate the safe containment of waste in DGR with
minimal impact on the environment, the proper characterisation of
barrier/buffer materials holds primary importance. The efficacy of
DGR to contain these canisters can be evaluated from the long-
term performance of the buffer materials under the combined
influence of physical, chemical and thermal loadings. The essential
characteristics of a buffer material are as follows: (a)itshould
facilitate the heat transfer from the canister to the surrounding
geoenvironment effectively; (b) it should have low contaminant
transport properties; and (c) it should have sufficiently high
sorption affinity towards radionuclides and heavy metals. In
addition, the buffer material is also expected to maintain its
physical and engineering properties at elevated temperatures and
saline environments anticipated in a waste disposal facility.
Therefore, the long-term performance of DGR can be evaluated by
understanding the fundamental behaviour of buffer materials over a
wide range of environmental conditions.
In addition, studies are required to understand the thermo-hydro-
mechanical response of engineered barriers such as bentonite
and bentonite-sand mixtures provided around the barrier
containers. These materials are designed to perform for hundreds
of years. Therefore, it is essential to understand the degradation
characteristics of such materials and natural rocks with time
when it is subjected to a repository environment. It is important
to appraise the physico-chemico-mineralogical transformation
of these materials. This obviously necessitates accelerated
ageing tests, which are complex. Further, the efficacy and long-
term performance of the high-level radioactive disposal facility
against the leakage of nuclides is often governed by the diffusion
characteristics of buffer material for gases (Rannaud et al.,
2009). Hence, radioactive waste management practices adopted
for the disposal of HLW and the associated radon gas transport
are another area where the geoenvironmental engineers need
to study the fundamental geomaterial–gas interaction and the
resulting gas outflow.
Mitigation of greenhouse gases using novel
carbon sequestration techniques
To meet the high energy demand, several nations, including
India, depend on a finite amount of fossil fuel sources which
includes mineral organic compounds extracted from the earth,
which include coal, petroleum, shale oil, tar sands and natural gas.
The high-level recovery, handling and combustion of fossil fuels
deteriorate the earth’s environment in the form of emissions
of greenhouse gases which contribute significantly to global
warming. The severity of the damage due to global warming and
the emission of greenhouse gases may ultimately cause many
plant and animal species to become extinct, if the current rate of
fossil fuel use continues (Diesendorf, 2006).
Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions into the geoenvironment
is the greatest challenge that the world is currently facing. To
mitigate this problem, geosequestration of greenhouse gases such
as carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide into geological
formations are considered to be a technically viable and feasible
option (USDOE, 1999). According to Diesendorf (2006),
geosequestration plays a major role in mitigating the problems in
the coal industry by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and
transforming the power industry into an eco-friendly one.
The process of geosequestration involves systematic trapping
of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, carbon
monoxide and sulfur dioxide, from the sources, and safe
transportation and storage in potential geological formations or
geological sinks. These processes be such that the disposal
methodologies offer long-term protection by increasing the
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Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
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residence time for these greenhouse gases. In view of this, the
United States Department of Energy (USDOE) has initiated
technology development programmes for carbon dioxide
sequestration in geological formations and a wide variety of
research programmes at different national laboratories in the
United States (Klara et al., 2003).
The success of geosequestration techniques depends largely on the
degree of compatibility of greenhouse gases with the surrounding
geoenvironment, in terms of material–carbon dioxide interaction.
With this in view, previous researchers have evaluated a wide
variety of geological formations including saline deep ocean beds,
aquifers, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and abandoned coal
mines for safe disposal of large quantities of these greenhouse
gases using various disposal techniques (Bachu et al., 1993;
Bouchard and Delaytermoz, 2004; Holloway and Savage, 1993;
Morishita et al., 1993; Winter and Bergman, 1993). Systematic
investigations were carried out to predict storage capacity of
deep oceans (Dilmore et al., 2008; Gunter and Perkins, 1993;
Hendriks and Blok, 1995; Hoffert et al., 1979; Holloway and
Savage, 1993; Vandermeer, 1996). Simulated laboratory as well
as numerical studies were conducted to understand the long-term
fate of the disposed of greenhouse gases into these reservoirs
and to assess the resulting change of sea water chemistry
(Cole et al., 1993; Masutani et al., 1993; Morishita et al., 1993).
The outcome of these studies cautioned that continuous disposal
of greenhouse gases into oceans may affect its aquatic life
(Golomb, 1993).
Further, various geological formations including saline aquifers,
depleted oil and gas reservoirs and abandoned coal mines were
evaluated for their suitability to contain greenhouse gases. For
this purpose, capacity estimation studies were conducted by
considering mineral tapping potential and sorption affinity of the
formations (Busch et al., 2003; Holt et al., 1995; Koide et al.,
1993). The geochemical interactions occur between the disposed
of greenhouse gases and surrounding media including the cap
rock leading to formation of complex chemicals which may
further demineralise and destabilise the formation (Mehic et al.,
2006; Rosenbauer et al., 2005).
The disposal of carbon dioxide into abandoned coal mines and
depleted oil and gas reservoirs leads to methane recovery from
the coal seams and made it possible to enhance oil and gas
production. The quantity of carbon dioxide that can be disposed
into these formations depends on the relative affinity of carbon
dioxide towards the potential sorption sites when compared to that
of methane and hydrocarbons.
Many attempts have been made by previous researchers to
estimate the capacity of various geological formations by
considering mere physical interaction of the disposed of gases and
the media (Gunter and Perkins, 1993; Li et al., 2006; Mito et al.,
2008). However, the efficiency of geological formations to contain
these disposed of gases depends greatly on the fundamental
interaction between the materials and greenhouse gases under
variable environmental conditions (Azmi et al., 2006; Bae and
Bhatia, 2006; Day et al., 2007, 2008; Majewska et al., 2009;
Mito et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2008). This interaction is
quite complex in nature and may alter the physicochemical
characteristics of the newly formed materials (Bertier et al., 2006;
May, 2005).
Comparison of various disposal methods reveals that ocean
sequestration is mainly suitable for disposal of carbon dioxide
from large sources nearer to the coastal region, while geological
sequestration is considered to be the most suitable storage
technique for disposals within the land area. Since ocean
disposal causes disruption to oceanic flora and fauna life, this
is less preferred than geological sequestration (Benson and
Myer, 2002).
For geological sequestration, the disposal mechanisms may vary
from mineral trapping to preferential sorption. Mineral trapping is
one of the advanced and harmless disposal mechanisms adopted
in the case of saline and chemically rich aquifers in which the
reaction time decides the stability and longevity of the disposal.
Similarly, coal bed sequestration makes use of the absorption
capacity of coal seams by the displacement of methane gas (due
to the preferential sorption of carbon dioxide). Enhanced coal bed
methane (ECBM) recovery and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are
the advantages of this technique which employs a preferential
sorption mechanism for the containment of carbon dioxide by
recovering the entrapped oil and gas. The amount of disposed gas
depends on the affinity of carbon dioxide towards coal or oil-
saturated porous media, and the rate of release of methane gas or
oil from these formations depends greatly on their diffusion and
sorption characteristics (Busch et al., 2003). For ensuring safe,
efficient and economical disposal of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into various geological formations, it is essential
to understand the fundamental interaction of disposed of gas with
various materials such as different soils, coal seams, oil-bearing
sediments, and others, under simulated reservoir conditions, in
terms of their sorption and diffusion characteristics (Aswathy,
2012; Aswathy et al., 2012).
Apart from carbon sequestration, geothermal energy is well
positioned to play an important role in mitigating global climate
change and safeguarding national energy security. Geothermal
energy is an environmentally friendly, clean, renewable and
sustainable source of electricity. Moreover, emission rates
associated with this technology are insignificant because no fossil
fuels are consumed (EPA, 2012). India has potential resources to
harness geothermal energy for various purposes from its seven
provinces including Himalayan (Puga, Chhumathang), Sahara
Valley, Cambay Basin, Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) lineament
belt, West Coast, Godavari basin and Mahanadi basin. It has been
estimated from geological, geochemical, shallow geophysical and
shallow drilling data that these provinces have the capacity to
produce 10 600 MW of power (Chandrasekharam, 2000). However,
7
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
despite India being one of the first countries to begin geothermal
projects way back in the 1970s, there is no installed geothermal
electricity-generating capacity. The power generation through
geothermal resources is still at the experimental stage in India.
Realising the potential and importance of this technology, the
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, has started a
major research programme to study geothermal systems of the
Himalaya covering Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Leh-
Ladakh regions of India (Rai et al., 2015).
Rainfall-induced landslides and river/coastal
erosion
Two major mechanisms triggering a landslide or a mass
movement of earth are incessant rainfall and earthquake. Figure 3
shows the landslide hazard zonation map of India. According
to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of
India, the regions which are widely prone to landslides are the
Himalayas, the Western Ghats and the North-Eastern hills of India
(NDMA, 2015). The Himalayan belt includes one of the highest
Moderate
to
low
High
NEPAL
BHUTAN
Bhopal
Bay
of
Bengal
Arabian
sea
72º0'0"E
10º0'0"N 14º0'0"N 18º0'0"N 22º0'0"N 26º0'0"N 30º0'0"N 34º0'0"N
68º0'0"E 72º0'0"E 76º0'0"E 80º0'0"E 84º0'0"E 88º0'0"E 92º0'0"E 96º0'0"E
58º0'0"E
76º0'0"E 80º0'0"E 84º0'0"E 88º0'0"E 92º0'0"E
10º0'0"N 14º0'0"N 18º0'0"N 22º0'0"N 26'0'0'N 30'0'0'N 34'0'0'N
Delhi
Indian Administrative Boundary Data Base (ABDB) from Survey of India, 2001
Patna
Kolkata
Landslide Hazard Zonation
Map of India
Udaipur
Bhuj
Amritsar
Jammu
Srinagar
Visakhapatnam
Shillong
Hyderabad
Chennai
Mumbai
Mussoorie
Aizawl
Manali
Jyotirmath
Nainital
Panaji
Bangalore
(modied Lambert conformal conic projection) 1:15,000,000
050
100 200 300 400 500
Lakshadweep
Kohima
Andaman
and
Nicobar
Islands
Severe
to
very high Unlikely
Figure 3. Landslide hazard zonation map of India (source:
www.bmtpc.org)
8
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
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mountain chains on earth with a relatively new and unstable
geology, often subjected to seismic activity. This, along with
heavy rainfall and snowfall, adds to the triggering mechanism
of landslides. The location of landslides in northeast India
range from West Bengal, Sikkim, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya,
Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The western hilly
regions are characterised by steep slopes of lateritic origin, which
are again high landslide-prone areas during monsoon. Most of the
landslides in the eastern and western parts of India occur every
year during the monsoon season.
Significant research has taken place in the last century to identify
the mechanism of landslides, mud flow, and delineating landslide
vulnerable zones. This has obviously helped the authorities
to relocate human settlements and any other developmental
activities to safer locations. While it is understood that landslides
cannot be fully prevented, recent advances in geotechnical,
geoenvironmental, hydrological, geological and geophysical
engineering have paved the way for innovative methods of
landslide mitigation to be proposed. What best can be done
during heavy rainfall to minimise mud flow or how to delay the
triggering of landslides are some of the important challenges
ahead. Real-life monitoring and forecasting of landslides and
methods of landslide mitigation are the least researched topics in
landslide management. It is important to focus on the scientific
aspects of landslide engineering to reveal more insights into
the mechanisms of landslides. A comparative assessment of soil
and rock needs to be taken up to understand the role of the
degradation of soil, mineralogy and chemical and physical
weathering of soil on the landslide process. This would help
to identify the susceptibility of certain soil types to landslide
occurrence along with the engineering causes.
Several national-level initiatives are underway in India to use
spatial technology and database management for preparing a
landslide database. Several site-specific projects are routinely
undertaken for heritage locations such as Vaishno Devi and
Amarnath (NDMA, 2015). A new centre of landslide research has
opened through the Ministry of Mines, India. Specific focus has
been laid on landslide mitigation by exploring methods such as
surface and subsurface drainage for minimising pore water
pressure; development of early warning systems; return period
modelling of landslides; effect of climate change on landslides;
slope geometry correction; providing toe protection using earth-
retaining structures; slope stabilisation by nailing, bolting,
anchoring, micro piling; reinforced earth structures; bioengineering
and afforestation. The use of subsurface drainage for landslide
mitigation is hardly practised in India. Hill slope hydrology
integrated with geotechnical and geological engineering can
provide innovative solutions to minimise landslides and at the same
time preserve rainwater. It is essential to understand the interplay
of rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, infiltration rate of top soil,
permeability of subsurface soil, subsurface soil layers, depth of
soil layer to the bedrock and pore-water pressure development for
different soils leading to the triggering of landslides. There has to
be a national initiative in this direction for all the three zones of
India, as depicted in Figure 3, where landslides are prominent.
Another important aspect is to study the effect of cloud burst
on landslides as this phenomenon is becoming more frequent.
The conventional methodology such as afforestation, which is
currently referred to as bioengineering, may become a sustainable
and ecologically viable solution for landslide mitigation.
Bioengineering is an important method for landslide mitigation by
using plant species to perform some engineering function, leading
to enhanced surface stability and reduced erosion problems. The
appropriate plant species offering maximum support for slope
stability need to be understood. The suitability of local flora for the
said purpose and its longevity can be determined only through an
interdisciplinary study involving geoenvironmental engineers,
hydrologists, biotechnologists and agriculturists. There are several
bioengineering techniques such as live pole drains, live silt fences,
live gully breaks, live staking, wattle fences and modified brush
layers (Polster, 2003), which are appropriate for a particular case
depending on steepness of the slope and type of soil. Some of
the biotechnical systems include nets of various materials anchored
by soil nails that preserve soil seeded with grass. Research has
been done on identifying appropriate plant species for stabilising
soil to prevent excessive erosion and also to mitigate the effect
of landslides. Guidelines need to be developed by generating a
database using several planned field studies for the use of hybrid
methodologies such as bioengineering along with reinforced earth
stabilisation. The assessment of viability, sustainability and cost-
effectiveness of such methods is an important research area for
minimising landslides in the Indian region.
Similar to landslides, another challenging problem faced by the
Indian region is the excessive river bank and coastal erosion
where the role of flowing water or waves is more prominent.
Like landslides, the task of protecting river banks and coastal
areas falls under the purview of geoenvironmental engineering,
where there needs to be an integrated approach of geotechnical,
hydrological and spatial technology for developing a suitable
solution. Bank erosion is a global problem, and hence, a local
measure taken for river bank conservation without an in-depth
study would aggravate the problem elsewhere. For recommending
a globally effective solution, there should be intense modelling of
water flow, which is essentially three dimensional to take into
account the effect of secondary water waves. There is a need for a
comprehensive assessment of flood protection measures to know
their influence downstream, which is possible with a lot of recent
developments in computational facilities. This, along with a
proper understanding of geotechnical characteristics of river
banks and coastal area, helps to arrive at a sustainable solution
to prevent excessive erosion. A lot of initiatives are taken by the
Indian government to promote innovative solutions for river bank
protection and preservation of coastal areas, which include the
utilisation of reinforced earth and geosynthetic structures. The
longevity and environmental viability of such structures need to
be researched in detail. There should be ways and means to
protect embankments and levees by resorting to proper modelling
9
Environmental Geotechnics Environmental geotechnology: an Indian
perspective
Rajesh, Hanumantha Rao, Sreedeep and
Arnepalli
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute of Technology - Bhubaneswar] on [01/10/15]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
of the study area and providing adequate reinforcement. Despite
several efforts taken for flood protection, the damage caused by
flooding increases year after year. This clearly indicates that the
deficiency is in assessing the complexity of the problem or
inadequate analysis leading to improper design of flood protection
measures. With the unexpected contribution of climate change
leading to erratic rainfall and flooding, there need to be innovative
and sustainable strategies developed to protect river bank and
coastal areas, thereby minimising loss of life and property.
Concluding remarks
This paper highlights some of the key geoenvironmental issues
in the Indian context and how the subject of ‘environmental
geotechnology’, an emerging interdisciplinary research area, could
potentially help in tackling them. The paper also emphasises the
role of geoenvironmental engineers for outlining a holistic approach
and postulating case-based scientific methodologies for sustainable
infrastructure development in India.
There are also noticeable initiatives by the government of India to
extract clean energy from gas hydrate sediments, coal bed methane,
coal gasification, hydraulic fracturing for gas extraction and so on.
Also, significant efforts are in progress towards carbon sequestration
and mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
However, in-depth concepts and methodical approaches are needed
to address wider-spectrum problems that may involve complexity
and unexpected challenges during execution. Further, India is at an
early stage in scientifically dealing with disposing of municipal and
industrial waste or waste containing nuclear material. As such, for
sustainable management of wastes, the country must promote with
greater urgency and on a larger scale well-advanced concepts like
recycling and reuse of wastes.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Building Materials &
Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), Ministry of Housing
and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, for kind
permission to publish the landslide hazard zonation map of
India.
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