Permeation of organic solvents through HDPE geomembrane using ASTM F739 and immersion methods

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a selected geomembrane as barrier was necessary.In this study,the chemical resistance of high density polyethylene(HDPE) geomembrane to four organic solvents was investigated using the standard ASTM F-739 and immersion methods.The diffusion of experimental organic solvents in HDPE was non-Fickian kinetic.From the sorption results of immersion test,diffusion coefficients were calculated using Fick’s equation.It was shown by the results of analysis of variance(ANOVA) that the diffusion and solubility coefficients were significantly different(p<0.05) for three thickness of HDPE samples.A good agreement(r2=0.947,p<0.001) of steady state permeation rates was found between ASTM F739 and immersion experiments.The immersion method could be a practical and inexpensive screening test to determine the chemical resistance of HDPE geomembrane.