Lithium, one of the raw materials in various batteries, is the element powering the technological revolution over the past 30 years that has led to people having exponentially more electronic devices in their lives. According to Lopez et al. (2019), lithium prices have changed dramatically in the last 10 years. In 2012, the price for lithium was $9.50 per pound ($4.30/kg). At the end of January 2022, the price reached $110.23 per pound ($50/kg). Projected annual worldwide demand could reach 425,000 tons (386,000 tonness) by 2025.

Factory-fabricated bucket or tapered geomembrane liners in a variety of chemical compositions have become critical in the oil and gas industry for aboveground frac tanks. But which should be used?

Modular construction is a process in which a building or other item is constructed primarily off-site; under controlled factory conditions; and using the same design, materials, equipment, testing and construction quality control and assurance (CQC/CQA) techniques as a field-constructed facility—but usually in about one-half the time (Modular Building Institute). Roof trusses, wood or concrete tilt-up walls, shower enclosures, tile patterns and other items are all examples of products that have adopted modular construction.

Since the first flexible membrane liner (FML) was used as part of an environmental liner system, the geomembrane industry has always looked for innovative solutions for chemical containment applications. Although there have been many innovations over the last 50 years, one of the most significant is the introduction of ketone ethylene ester (KEE), which is a solid plasticizer. KEE is available under the Elvaloy trade or product name and is used to plasticize polyvinyl chloride (PVC) geomembranes, as discussed in detail in this article.

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) expanded its student internship program to three companies and six interns during the summer of 2017. The first year of the internship program in 2016, one intern worked for Colorado Lining International (CLI) at various sites in the United States. The main objectives of the program are to introduce future civil engineers to the field of geosynthetics field, civil engineering construction, and provide a connection between possible future employers and the many undergraduate (~2,400) and graduate students (~1,200) at the UIUC.

The authors gave an overview of how geosynthetic products are designed and tested to ensure they will fulfil their intended function, focusing on applications to irrigation, drainage and agriculture. A few key considerations were identified as being critical to ensure proper performance of geosynthetic materials, in geotechnical projects in general and in agriculture in particular. The