How ESS-13 Works

Components of ESS-13

ESS-13 stands for ‘Environmental Soil Sealant’. It reduces the hydraulic conductivity of soils beyond their natural capability by filling voids in the soil and by chemically and electrically modifying the alignment of the clay platelets in the soil.

ESS-13 contains:
Surfactants – specially designed to reduce the electrical charges on clay platelets. This reduction of electrical charge minimizes the natural electrical repulsion of the clay particles at the molecular level.
Emulsified vegetable oil – micron sized droplets fill voids and ‘lubricate’ the clay platelets allowing for more efficient re-alignment.

Both of these components work together to improve the mechanical compaction of soils. Without ESS-13, the clay platelets exist in a jumbled order and cannot effectively form a water barrier.

Laboratory and field tests repeatedly show that introducing ESS-13 into a soil matrix decreases the hydraulic conductivity of the soil significantly; many times by a magnitude to a magnitude and a half.

In the waterborne treatment, ESS-13 stays in suspension, acting as a colloidal dispersion, and is drawn into the soil as the seepage occurs. It then envelops the soil particles and attenuates to the cation exchange sites, thus filling the existing voids. Because it works with the soil rather than creating a membrane over the soil, it will not deteriorate with time.

The Longevity of ESS-13

By using one of the ESS-13 systems, an environment is created that allows for continual seepage rate reduction. This is due to the stabilization of the soil and the reduction of voids. Microscopic fines that would ordinarily have passed through the larger voids in the native soil will build up on the ESS-13 liner surface. The ESS-13 system is the only lining system that actually improves with time.

You can view the Architectural Details here.