Research Projects

Rajasthan, India, produces 94% of the total marble production in the country, with 5 to 6 million tons of marble slurry produced annually. This waste is disposed of in the environment, generating landfill leachate that affects regional groundwater. Liners are essential for minimizing leachate seepage, but no studies have been conducted on the impact of marble dust landfill sites on regional water quality in India. Therefore, it is crucial to study the impact of disposal of marble slurry in landfill sites on regional groundwater and explore the use of suitable liner systems for better landfill site management. The main focus of this proposal is to assess regional groundwater quality and understand the possible impact of marble dust landfill sites on groundwater quality. The study will also include selecting suitable geomembrane-based liner materials based on their geotechnical and interfacial properties and evaluating their performance in controlling landfill leachate seepage. To achieve these objectives, the landfill site will be selected based on secondary information, and regional groundwater samples, marble dust deposit, and soil sediment samples will be collected. Water quality analysis will be conducted, and the physicochemical, geotechnical characteristics of solid deposit and sediment will be assessed. The selected geomembrane will be selected, and the marble dust-geomembrane interaction mechanism will be studied.