Soil pore blockage as influenced by livestock effluent with specific focus on colloids

George, Timothy Colin (2015) Soil pore blockage as influenced by livestock effluent with specific focus on colloids. [USQ Project]

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Abstract

Management of livestock effluent, is becoming a mounting concern for beef feedlot operators as they seek to comply with environmental regulation that limits the seepage from beneath effluent storage ponds to a maximum hydraulic conductivity of 1.0x10-9 m/s. The literature suggests, particularly work by Bennett & Warren (2015), that this rate is achievable through the compaction of in-situ soils to 98% of their maximum dry density. However, there is a lack of research into the effect that liner depth has on colloidal blockage, and thus the need for this research topic.

Using various scales of liner depth to ponded head, all having the same hydraulic gradient, the hydraulic conductivity was tested to determine whether there was any difference between the scales over time. It was found that there was no significant difference and therefore liner depth is of importance to colloidal blockage.

It was made apparent by additional research that colloidal blockage forms a two layer system over time, where the upper layer remains saturated and the layer beneath transitions into unsaturated flow.

This finding adds to the literature regarding soil pore blockage via colloidal entrainment mechanisms, and also adds to the knowledge available to feedlot operators. This research supports the employment of the current guidelines of compacted liner construction, which stress the importance of liner thickness.


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Item Type: USQ Project
Item Status: Live Archive
Additional Information: Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Honours) project
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Civil Engineering and Surveying (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2021)
Supervisors: McLean Bennett, John
Date Deposited: 06 Jun 2016 02:00
Last Modified: 06 Jun 2016 02:00
Uncontrolled Keywords: Livestock, Effluent, Pore-blockage, Colloids
Fields of Research (2008): 09 Engineering > 0907 Environmental Engineering > 090799 Environmental Engineering not elsewhere classified
Fields of Research (2020): 40 ENGINEERING > 4011 Environmental engineering > 401199 Environmental engineering not elsewhere classified
URI: https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/29230

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