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. 2021 Jan 29;14(3):634.
doi: 10.3390/ma14030634.

Environmental Impact of Geosynthetics in Coastal Protection

Philipp Scholz  1 , Ieva Putna-Nimane  2 , Ieva Barda  2 , Ineta Liepina-Leimane  2 , Evita Strode  2 , Alexandr Kileso  3   4 , Elena Esiukova  3 , Boris Chubarenko  3 , Ingrida Purina  2 , Franz-Georg Simon  1
Affiliations

Environmental Impact of Geosynthetics in Coastal Protection

Philipp Scholz et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Geosynthetic materials are applied in measures for coastal protection. Weathering or any damage of constructions, as shown by a field study in Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia), could lead to the littering of the beach or the sea (marine littering) and the discharge of possibly harmful additives into the marine environment. The ageing behavior of a widely used geotextile made of polypropylene was studied by artificial accelerated ageing in water-filled autoclaves at temperatures of 30 to 80 °C and pressures of 10 to 50 bar. Tensile strength tests were used to evaluate the progress of ageing, concluding that temperature rather than pressure was the main factor influencing the ageing of geotextiles. Using a modified Arrhenius equation, it was possible to calculate the half-life for the loss of 50% of the strain, which corresponds to approximately 330 years. Dynamic surface leaching and ecotoxicological tests were performed to determine the possible release of contaminants. No harmful effects on the test organisms were observed.

Keywords: artificial ageing; dynamic surface leaching test; geosynthetics; geotextiles; marine littering.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic view of autoclave test equipment (left), closing the cover plate of the autoclaves (test rig with two autoclaves).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Shoreline of the Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) in the Baltic Sea including the Sambian Peninsula (quadrangle). Source: OpenStreetMap.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photographs of samples collected during the field study: (a) + (b): aged plastic coating of wires in gabions’ (c) debris from geocell; (d): debris from big bag.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Retained elongation Rε measured after exposure in autoclaves as a function of temperature (left) and pressure (right). The duration of exposure is visualized by the gray scale of the symbols. Note that at 80 °C experiments at three different pressures (10, 20, and 30 bar, different symbols) were performed.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Algae growth response after 72 h (optical density measurements at 680 nm, left), Hyalella. azteca survival after 14 days (right). (NA: not analyzed, right).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Survival of Daphnia magna after 24 h and 48 h.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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