1. Geotextile based Environmental Management Systems
Furhan R. Hussain Qurat-ul-Ain
Textile Research & Innovation Center
Textile Institute of Pakistan

2. Textile Research & Innovation Centre | Textile Institute of Pakistan
Geotextiles
Geotextiles are technical textiles designed for use in association with soil and for various civil engineering purposes serving the need for separation, filtration, reinforcement, protecting or drainage.
Textile Research & Innovation Centre | Textile Institute of Pakistan

3. Geotextiles and Environment
Geotextiles help make environmental management sustainable.
This presentation focuses on two geotextile based environmental management systems:
Landfills
Erosion Control
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4. Landfill Introduction
Kachra Kundi Landfill in Karachi
Image source:
A landfill is a piece of land where waste can be isolated from the environment until it is safe.
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5. Landfill an overview of Pakistan
Karachi and Lahore each generate over 6100 tons of garbage daily.
A portion of this garbage is dumped at various sites at urban outskirts.
Solid Waste Management Policy of Pakistan (2010) clearly recommends the use of geotextiles in landfills.
To date, there is not a single properly designed landfill site in Pakistan.
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6. Landfill without Geotextile
Landfills that merely consist of waste dumped on soil poses severe environmental risks such as soil contamination, underground water contamination and decline in air quality.
While soil and air get contaminated through direct contact with waste, underground water gets affected when a mixture of rainwater and decomposing fluids seeps downwards.
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7. Landfill with Geotextile
The prime reason for soil and subsoil water contamination is soil porosity.
To address this, partial or full hydrogeological isolation is required.
Land which does not naturally offer leachate security requires additional lining materials to minimize seepage from the landfill’s base.
This is achieved through lining of geotextiles such as clay liners or synthetic geomembranes or both.
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8. Landfill with Geotextile
Image source:
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9. Landfill with Geotextile
Single liner systems
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10. Landfill with Geotextile
Composite liner systems
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11. Landfill with Geotextile
Double liner systems
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12. Landfill with Geotextile
Bottom Liner
Prevents buried waste from reaching in contact with natural soil and underground water
Puncture resistant synthetic plastic (HDPE, mm)
Covering Layer or Cap
Masks undesirable odour
Isolation from exposure to air, rainwater, pests and moisture
Permanent covering with compacted soil after landfill is considered finished
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13. Soil Erosion Control Introduction
Soil erosion is the removal of soil’s surface layers due to:
Particles’ detachment
Transport of particles due to external forces
External forces include drag or tactive forces acting on soil particles
Causes of soil erosion may include rainfall, wind, ice melt and human activities.
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14. Soil Erosion Control Introduction
An example of erosion
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15. Soil Erosion Control an overview of Pakistan
About million hectares of area is affected by erosion by water and about 6.17 million hectares are affected by erosion by wind!
Biggest cause of soil erosion in Pakistan is deforestation in the North.
Water erosion is prominent on steep slopes of highly cultivated areas of the Potohar track.
Erosion is reducing productivity of the land by 1.5 – 7.5% per year.
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16. Soil Erosion Control Geotextiles
Currently, the major use of natural fiber geotextiles worldwide is in erosion control industry!
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17. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Erosion is controlled in four primary ways, however the Ground Cover solution is most common.
Ground covers provide additional control over weeds as a benefit.
Geotextile ground covers can be synthetic or natural, however natural fibers are preferred for their environment friendly properties
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18. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Two most common natural fibers for natural geotextiles are coir and jute.
Natural fibers are processed into fine yarns which in turn are woven or matted to create fabrics.
Jute geo-textiles (JGT) holds many advantages over man-made geotextiles in controlling surface soil-detachment and consequent erosion for its three dimensional construction.
Textile Research & Innovation Centre | Textile Institute of Pakistan

19. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
JGT can retain almost 5 times their own weight of moisture, can attenuate extremes of temperature, can provide protection to seedlings from the direct sunrays and prevent dehydration of soil, allows air and light through its pores, and provides micro-nutrients to the soil after biodegradation.
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20. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Yarns (usually weft yarns) of JGT placed normal to the direction of surface run-off act as mini check-dams laid in series, curbing the velocity of surface run-off and preventing, to a good extent, migration of the detached particles beyond.
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21. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Application Methods of NGT:
The soil-surface is to be leveled without any sharp aggregate protruding over it.
Broadcasting of seeds of appropriate vegetation.
Unrolling of NGT from top of the slope to the bottom along the direction of surface run-off.
Anchoring of JGT by steel staples/wooden pegs within a trench at the two ends and filling the trench with brick bats/gravel or suitable materials.
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22. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Application Methods of NGT: 5. Care should be taken to ensure drape ability of JGT i.e., the fabric must touch the ground at all points. 6. Overlaps should be 100 mm at the sides and 150 mm at the ends. 7. A second dose of seed broadcasting should be given over the laid NGT along with dibbling of locally available grass.
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23. Soil Erosion Control with Geotextiles
Case Studies:
JGT of 400gsm of 34x15 m, was applied at Arcuttipur, T.E.Cacher, Asam TRA to prevent top soil erosion and results show 97% reduction in soil loss.
A study on erosion control of flood embankment was done at Valuka, Maldah, Irrigation Department, Govt of West Bengal. Jute of 500 GSM and 6.5x4.5 m was used. It was observed that there was no soil erosion and no damage by rains in later years.
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24. Geotextiles and Environment
Geotextiles are playing a significant role in helping manage built and natural environments worldover.
Relating with successful international applications, geotextiles have a significant role to play in Pakistan’s environment.
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25. Geotextiles and Pakistan
Geotextiles are playing a significant role in helping manage built and natural environments world over.
Relating with successful international applications, geotextiles have a important role to play in Pakistan’s environment.
TRIC has played a noteworthy role in introducing technical textiles in Pakistan and raising awareness.
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26. Textile Research & Innovation Centre | Textile Institute of Pakistan
Thank you!
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