T.H. Wu Distinguished Lecture - 2016

Engineering Bentonite-Polymer Composite Materials for Extreme Environmental Applications
By Dr. Craig Benson, PhD, PE, NAE
Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia

Abstract
Hydraulic barriers employing bentonite clay are widely used in geological, geotechnical, and environmental engineering to control migration of contaminants in the environment. Conventional bentonite barriers function well in moderate chemical environments that are common in most geoenvironmental applications – modest ionic strength, circumneutral pH, and balanced cationic species. In more severe applications, however, conventional bentonite barriers can be ineffective, and more resilient materials are needed. Applications requiring more resilient barrier materials include containment systems for highly alkaline or acidic wastes from refining operations in metallic mining, landfills for coal ashes generating high ionic strength and strongly divalent leachates, and disposal facilities for low-level radioactive and mixed wastes (LLW, MW) from Cold War restoration activities.

This presentation describes how new bentonite-polymer materials are being engineered through an interdisciplinary, industry-academic, partnership to effectively contain aggressive liquids from the aforementioned industrial waste streams. Principles of geotechnical engineering, soil chemistry, and polymer chemistry are integrated into the design process. Examples are provided of new and forthcoming commercial bentonite-polymer materials that employ sodium bentonite and polymer hydrogels that function over a broad range chemical conditions. Case histories are described where these new resilient materials are being deployed at industrial facilities in North America, Australia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

Biographical information
Craig H. Benson is Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia as well as the Janet and John Hamilton Endowed Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining the University of Virginia in July 2015, Dean Benson was appointed as Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, Chair of the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chair of the Dept. of Geological Engineering, and Director of Sustainability Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Benson is past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Past-President of the ASCE Geo-Institute (GI), and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

This lecture is free. Please RSVP to Kevin Satterfield at satterfield.3@osu.edu or 614-247-7749.

Location of the Sullivant Hall: http://www.osu.edu/map/building.php?building=106
Parking available at Ohio Union South Garage:
http://osu.campusparc.com/home/garages/academic-south-campus/ohio-union-...