Bentofix® Geosynthetic Clay Liner for Containment on SA Fuel Farm

Project Snapshot

Port Bonython is a deep-water port and hydrocarbon processing facility in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia, approximately 250 km northwest of Adelaide. The $110 million diesel import facility includes three storage tanks storing up to 81,000,000 litres of diesel fuel. This capacity provides about half of the state’s total yearly demand.

At the commencement of this project, the operator needed to ensure that any potential spills or runoff from the diesel tanks would be contained, preventing any environmental contamination.

The Challenges

A bunded tank farm area of 50,000m² was constructed to contain stormwater runoff and any potential lost hydrocarbons in case of spillages. An impermeable layer was required in this area to prevent any contamination or saturation of subgrade or local ground waters.

A Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) was specified to be installed across the tank farm area, bunds and tank bases. A 300mm compacted pavement layer was then placed above the GCL.

Our Solution

Bentofix® NSP4300 is a geosynthetic clay liner available from Global Synthetics: this product met all the required properties and was approved for the application.

Bentofix® Thermal Lock Geosynthetic clay liners are a needle-punched reinforced composite that combines two durable geotextile outer layers and a uniform core of high-swelling powdered sodium bentonite clay to form a hydraulic barrier.

By choosing the Bentofix® product, the contractor was also able to utilise several installation advantages. Over 200 rolls of the wide-width product (5m) were easily installed, as all rolls have self-sealing overlaps. Specialised lifting and placing equipment as well as on-site assistance was also supplied by Global Synthetics.

If your next project requires a strong and reliable geosynthetic clay liner, get in touch with the team at Global Synthetics for fast supply Australia-wide, backed by knowledgeable engineering support.