Claims
- 1. A method for producing a composition useful in forming an enclosure for containing water contaminated with water-soluble industrial waste salts which comprises forming an intimate admixture of dry soil and a sealing effective amount of soil sealant composition consisting essentially of an intimate dry admixture of (a) unhydrated bentonite; (b) a water-soluble dispersing agent selected from the group consisting of a water-soluble salt of phosphoric acid, a water-soluble sulfate of the formula ROSO.sub.3 X where R is hydrocarbon of from 8 to 32 carbon atoms, and X is a member selected from the group consisting of an alkaline metal or ammonium, and a water-soluble salt of leonardite; and, (c) a water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid, water-soluble salts of polyarcylic acid, hydrolyzed poly-acrylonitrile, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, copolymers of the foregoing, and a copolymer of acrylic acid and maleic anhydride, the amount of water-soluble polymer in said soil sealant composition being from 0.1% to 3.0%, by weight, the weight ratio of water-soluble dispersent to water-soluble polymer being from 6:1-36;
- and contacting the resulting dry mixture of soil and soil sealant composition with water containing substantially no water-soluble industrial waste salts thereby hydrating the bentonite.
- 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water-soluble polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid and water-soluble salts of polyacrylic acid.
- 3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the water-soluble dispersing agent is a water-soluble salt of pyrophosphoric acid.
- 4. A method according to claim 1 wherein k is hydrocarbon of from 8 to 22 carbon atoms and X is sodium.
- 5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water-soluble dispersing agent is sodium lauryl sulfate.
- 6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water-soluble dispersing agent is a water-soluble salt of leonardite.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This is a division of application Ser. No. 605,234, filed Aug. 18, 1975, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,402 which is a division of application Ser. No. 472,668, filed May 23, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,560, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 330,200, filed Feb. 27, 1973, now abandoned.
In recent years, pollution has become an increasing problem facing all nations of the world. Among those pollution problems which have increased the most is the problem of water pollution and what to do with the contaminated water.
Heretofore, lagoons and various other water holding areas formed from soil have been used extensively for pollution control and, in order to prevent seepage of the water contained in said water-holding areas, bentonite has been admixed with the soil forming the water-holding areas. Bentonite is normally effective because it swells when in contact with water thereby filling up the voids found in soil. Thus, bentonite, has been satisfactory solution for containing water which had not been highly contaminated with water-soluble industrial waste; however, when the water is contaminated with such industrial waste the use of bentonite has not per se prevented seepage of water through the soil because most industrial waste will cause the bentonite to disintegrate.
In order to prevent seepage of water contaminated with relatively small amounts of said industrial waste (in the case of calcium chloride as little as 2.3%) it has been proposed to prehydrate the bentonite prior to contact of the contaminated water. This has been relatively satisfactory with water containing very small amounts of such water-soluble industrial waste material but when the water contains any significant amounts of calcium chloride (and more than 4% sodium chloride) seepage still occurs.
Inasmuch as a rather large amount of water contains water-soluble industrial waste compounds it is readily apparent that it is a desideratum in the art to find a method for confining water which is highly contaminated with such water-soluble industrial waste compounds.
This invention is predicated on the surprising discovery that a composition when added to soil will prevent seepage of water therethrough when the water contains large amounts of water-soluble industrial waste inorganic salts such as the water-soluble chloride salts, water-soluble sulfite salts and water-soluble sulfate salts.
Accordingly, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to disclose and provide a method for forming lagoons and other water-holding areas which will not allow seepage therethrough of water containing inorganic water-soluble industrial waste compounds.
Another object of the present invention is to disclose and provide a composition, which when added to soil, will prevent seepage through the soil of water contaminated with water-soluble industrial waste compounds.
A further object of the present invention is to disclose and provide a soil containing an additive which is useful in forming lagoons and water-holding areas which will now allow seepage therethrough of water containing large amounts of water-soluble industrial waste compounds.
Still another object of the present invention is to disclose and provide a soil sealant composition containing, as essential ingredients, bentonite, a certain type of water-soluble dispersent, and a certain type of water-soluble polymer.
Still a further object of the present invention is to disclose and provide a method of forming water holding areas made of soil, said water-holding areas being capable of holding water contaminated with water-soluble industrial waste compounds without seepage through the soil, said method including the step of forming a mixture of soil and soil sealant composition composed of bentonite, a water-soluble dispersing agent, and a water-soluble polymer, forming a water containing enclosure from said soil, and hydrating the bentonite contained in the soil by contacting same with water substantially uncontaminated with water-soluble industrial waste compounds.
Still another and further object of the present invention is to disclose a novel method of treating bentonite so that it will not disintegrate when contacted with water containing water-soluble industrial waste compounds such as inorganic water-soluble chloride salts, sulfate salts and sulfite salts.
Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless specifically indicated otherwise.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Divisions (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
605234 |
Aug 1975 |
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| Parent |
472668 |
May 1974 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
330200 |
Feb 1973 |
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Patent Grant
4084382
