Patent 9550879 was granted and assigned to Amcol International Corporation on January, 2017 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A hydraulic barrier composition can include granules of a water-swellable clay and a water-soluble polymer. Upon contact with a leachate at least portion of the polymer is solvated by the leachate and becomes entrapped in at least one of clay pores, at clay platelet edges, and between adjacent platelets.