Plastic-Sand Composite Drainage Material Replacing Gravel in Landfills
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gravel, a commonly used material for landfill drainage and filling, is expensive, resource-intensive, and its extraction and transportation have significant economic and environmental impacts, while its use in landfills can lead to cementation and loss of drainage capacity, hindering efficient landfill management and circular economy goals.
Innovation Solution
A composite material composed of 65-83% thermoplastic material, 2-20% multilayer laminated plastic material, and 16-26% sand is used to replace gravel, providing equivalent drainage and filling capabilities through the disordered arrangement of its components, allowing recycling of non-reusable plastics and reducing the need for virgin materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gravel is used for landfill drainage and filling, then drainage capability is provided, but extraction and transportation cause significant economic and environmental impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by replacing natural gravel with a synthetic composite made from plastic waste and sand. This substitution maintains the essential drainage parameters (porosity, permeability) while eliminating the harmful extraction and transportation impacts associated with natural gravel, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and harmful factors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite material consisting of plastic waste particles and sand grains bound together. This composite structure replicates the drainage functionality of natural gravel while using recycled materials, thereby maintaining drainage capability without the economic and environmental costs of extracting and transporting natural gravel
2Reliability
If gravel is used in landfills, then drainage function is achieved, but it leads to cementation and loss of drainage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the material composition parameters by using plastic waste and sand instead of natural gravel. The plastic component prevents the cementation that occurs with natural gravel, maintaining stable drainage capacity over time while preserving the drainage function, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and composition stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses plastic waste materials that are inherently resistant to degradation and cementation. These materials maintain their drainage properties throughout the landfill's operational life without the degradation issues associated with natural gravel, ensuring long-term stability of drainage capacity
3Quantity of substance
If quarry gravel is extracted and transported to landfill, then drainage material is provided, but resource consumption and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers and reuses plastic waste materials that would otherwise be discarded. By incorporating these recovered materials into a composite drainage medium with sand, the patent provides sufficient drainage material for landfills while eliminating the need to extract and consume virgin quarry gravel, thus resolving the contradiction between material availability and virgin material loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the waste management system to serve itself by converting plastic waste from landfills into drainage materials for the same landfills. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external virgin material extraction and transportation, reducing both resource consumption and costs while maintaining adequate drainage material supply
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Composite material for drainage and filling at landfill sites, aimed at biogas and leachate collection from the mass of waste. Such composite material includes: (a) at least one thermoplastic material; (b) optionally, a multilayer laminated plastic material; and (c) sand, at concentrations of ≥ 16 % by weight based on the total weight of the composition. The disclosure also relates to a process for manufacturing the composite material and to the uses for which the material may be intended at a landfill site.