The researchers’ material, shown being installed at a site in the Middle East, combines sodium bentonite clay and polymers to create a substance that can withstand industrial waste. Photo: CETCO Storing industrial waste has never been a pretty job, and it’s getting harder. New techniques for refining such metals as aluminum and vanadium, for example, also yield new byproducts that have to be sealed away from human and environmental contact. And the practice of “scrubbing” the exhaust of coal-fired power plants keeps chemicals like sulfur dioxide from entering the air, but produces a more concentrated residue. Now, many of these wastes are proving too acidic, basic or concentrated for commonly used storage materials. That’s why University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, partnering with companies through the National Science Foundation’s Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry program, set out to reinforce those materials by fusing them with polymers. Their starting point is sodium bentonite clay, which has proven reliable in a variety of environmental applications, essentially swelling up and forming a seal when exposed to water or other liquids. But the clay sometimes fails to swell up adequately when subjected to harsh conditions, such as the extreme pH levels of “red mud,”
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