Impoundment liner repair by electrophoresis of clay

Electrophoresis of clay particles from dilute suspensions is an innovative technology to seal leaks in operating surface impoundments that does not require removal of impoundment contents, exposure of workers to contaminants, or prior knowledge of the leak locations. A suspension of clay particles is added to the impoundment liquid. A cathode (negative electrode) is placed inside and an anode (positive electrode) is placed outside the leaking impoundment. A direct current (DC) electric field is imposed externally across the geomembrane liner through the leaks. The clay particles migrate to the leaks under the influence of the imposed electric field to form a clay cake seal. The results of laboratory experiments to evaluate the use of a DC electric field to direct migration of clay particles into a leak and the hydraulic integrity of the resulting seal are presented in this paper. The effects of clay type, clay particle concentration in suspension, size of leak, and electric field strength on the migration of clay particles and process of cake formation are evaluated. The sealing effectiveness and internal structure of the resulting clay cakes are examined by hydraulic conductivity measurements and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Electrophoretic mobilities of bentonite particles in different chemical environments were also measured to evaluate the feasibility of the technology in practical situations.