Citation :

Sneha S Kulkarni, Nagashree B, Savitha A L, Vinayak A Hosur, Varun B K, S. Geetha, Prashant Sunagar, "Circular-Economy Engineered Alkali-Activated Alumina Residue Jute Composite Liners as High-Performance Hydraulic Barriers for Sustainable Agricultural Water Storage Systems," International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 326-336, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I5P121

Abstract

Hydrophobic High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic liners, which are routinely utilized in agricultural and aquacultural pond applications, suffer severe long-term degradation from UV radiation, mechanical and environmental processes, which lead to increasingly permeable, deteriorated plastic, and ineffective HDPE liners as reservoirs of water. To circumvent such plastic-based liner performance problems, this work proposes a circular-economy solution to sustainably valorize an alkali-activated, mineral-based residue material, bauxite mine waste, into an effective replacement for hydrophobic polymer plastic liners in agricultural/aquacultural pond applications. A novel liner composite material was developed from an Alumina Residue (AR), Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and jute fibers in an 80:20 (AR: OPC) ratio, then activated with a Sodium Hydroxide (NH) and Sodium Silicate (NS) solution at various NH: NS ratios (1:1, 1:1.5 and 1:2). Systematic experimental and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis were then performed on the activated liner composites to evaluate their hydraulic barrier performance and durability (through rate of pH stabilization). The best hydraulic barrier composite was the AR: OPC (80:20) liner activated at an NH: NS = 1:1.5 ratio, which demonstrated significantly less seepage than an HDPE liner and a defined gel-like geopolymer composite microstructure. These results not only demonstrate that alkali-activated, alumina residue-based liners significantly outperform plastic liners in hydraulic barrier performance and durability, but also that they do so with a low cost and carbon footprint, paving a path for a circular-economy solution to valorize bauxite waste into effective hydraulic barriers for water-containing ponds in agricultural and aquacultural applications.

Keywords

Alumina Residue (AR), Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Sodium Hydroxide (NH), Jute Fiber.

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