Drill hole plugging capsule

A method of plugging holes, in particular the plugging of drill holes in earth. The method consists of inserting an auger, having a bit at the lower end and a central rod about which is formed a helical land, into the drill hole and rotating the auger to cause material to be conveyed upward and out of the drill hole. As the auger is moved downward this will cause any plugs or debris within the hole to be removed. After the auger has been inserted to a sufficient depth the rotation of the auger is reversed, and bentonite or other plugging material is poured into the drill hole about the auger. The reversed rotation of the auger will cause the plugging material to be conveyed downward along the drill hole and compacted at the bottom. As the drill hole is filled with compacted plugging material the auger is slowly removed to form a consistent reliable plug of the plugging material. A second method utilizes a tubular capsule filled with coarse ground sodium bentonite. The capsule, when inserted into the hole, sinks through any mud or slurry material within the hole to rest at the bottom of the hole. If the hole is filled with overly dense material, a rod may be used to force the capsules to the bottom of the hole. The capsule is constructed of a water soluble material and includes a plurality of slots cut along its exterior wall to facilitate expansion and to allow liquid to easily permeate the container. A plastic cap on its upper end allows rods to be forced thereagainst to push the capsule downward without puncturing the capsule.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates in general to filling or plugging of drill 
holes. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved method 
for plugging an abandoned drill hole within the earth and a capsule for 
use therewith. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
It has been well known to provide shallow (on the order of 30 m or 100') 
drill holes within the earth for a variety of purposes. Such holes are 
typically formed with a standard seismic drill. In forming such holes, it 
is common for the drill to pass through several layers having different 
compositions. For example, the drill may pass through hard compacted soil, 
clay, loose sand, and other typical geologic material. Additionally, it is 
also fairly common for the drill to pass through one or more water bearing 
layers during formation of the hole. Such water bearing layers may be a 
saline water source or a fresh water aquifer. Unfortunately, the passage 
of the drill hole through such aquifers may cause damage to the aquifer. 
In particular, a fresh water aquifer may "leak" downward through the hole 
into a fracture or uncharged zone, causing loss of water from the aquifer. 
A drill hole extending between a saline water source and a fresh water 
aquifer may allow commingling of these water supplies, damaging both. 
Additionally, contamination from the surface, such as surface rain water 
passing downward through the hole into a fresh water aquifer, may cause 
damage. 
To overcome this problem it has been known to plug the drill holes, at 
least to a level above the water sources, with high quality coarse ground 
chemically unaltered sodium bentonite (hereafter bentonite). The bentonite 
will swell greatly upon hydration creating a high quality and reliable 
plug. While properly placed bentonite plugs are quit reliable, it has been 
a problem to place the bentonite in the proper position within the drill 
hole. 
A first and simple method for placing the bentonite is to simply pour a 
small granular form of dry bentonite into the drill hole from the surface. 
The bentonite will then fall downward through the drill hole, filling the 
hole from the bottom upward. However, where the drill hole passes through 
unconsolidated material, such material may form a cave in at the sides of 
the drill hole, forming a plug at a position spaced above the bottom of 
the hole. In such cases the small granular bentonite will simply fill the 
hole from the plug upward and not pass downward to the bottom of the hole 
to fully seal the water source. Additionally, this pour filling method is 
not possible in drill holes passing through high volume artisan flows, or 
in drill holes using a dug pit (i.e. where a bentonite slurry has been 
employed to maintain wall integrity in the hole). 
The conventional form of bentonite poured into the hole is formed of small 
granular particles having a diameter of no greater than 3/8 inches. Such 
small material has proven ineffective when poured into holes having high 
fluid flow rates therethrough and when poured into holes retaining a high 
liquid level (i.e., a long distance between the hole bottom and liquid 
level). As the small granular material passes through the liquid, it 
begins to hydrate and swell. Granular bentonite having a diameter of no 
greater than 3/8 inches swells quickly and plugs the hole prior to 
reaching the bottom. Hence, conventional small granular material is 
ineffective for filling deep holes. Additionally, the conventionally sized 
granular bentonite falls through the liquid in the hole in an 
unconcentrated state. Each granular particle is effectively afforded the 
entire cross-sectional area of the hole within which to expand. Sodium 
bentonite will continuously expand until it is restrained by its 
surroundings or starved for water. Once the bentonite expands to a size 
several times its dehydrated size, the conventionally sized bentonite 
granule loses its solid structure and turns to a slurry liquid state. Once 
sodium bentonite hydrates to the point that it turns to a slurry liquid, 
the granule becomes ineffective at plugging holes. 
Past systems that use the conventional sized bentonite particles have 
prevented degradation to this slurry state by filling the hole with 
dehydrated granular particles before each individual particle is allowed 
to expand substantially. To do so, the granules are poured into shallow 
holes or holes having very little liquid standing therein. In shallow 
holes, conventionally sized particles collect in the bottom of the hole 
before expanding substantially. However, when conventionally sized 
granular bentonite is poured into deep holes and through deep liquid 
levels, each individual particle turns to a slurry state before reaching 
the bottom of the hole and collecting with the other falling particles. 
A second and more reliable method is to insert a conduit into the drill 
hole and pass a slurry of bentonite through the conduit while slowly 
withdrawing the conduit. For example, Kitanaka U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,191 
discloses a special auger which is rotated in the normal manner to drill 
the hole, and then is fixed against rotation while the bentonite slurry is 
passed through a central hole in the auger and the auger is withdrawn. 
While this method is effective, it requires the use of a special and 
expensive auger. 
An alternative slurry/conduit method consists of simply inserting a 
standard 11/2 inch PVC pipe into the drill hole and passing the slurry 
through this pipe. While this method does not require the use of a special 
auger, if the hole has been plugged as noted above, the method requires an 
initial step of drilling with an auger to clear the plug prior to 
inserting the pipe. 
Moreover, problems have been encountered with the above systems when using 
a mixture of heavy bentonite gel water slurry. The slurry mixture is used 
while drilling the holes to keep the walls of the drill holes from 
sluffing inward, thereby avoiding the need to reconstruct sluffed areas 
within the hole. After abandonment, the slurry stands within the hole. The 
density of the slurry is sufficiently close to the density of conventional 
granular bentonite which is poured directly into the hole, that the slurry 
holds the granular bentonite in suspension proximate the top section of 
the hole. Thus, when the granular bentonite is poured into the hole, it 
does not sink to the bottom, and thus does not plug the hole from the 
bottom up. 
Moreover, the foregoing systems are ineffective when used with wet auger 
drilled holes which utilize water injected from the surface downward into 
the hole. While drilling the hole, the agitation of the auger stem, when 
combined with the injected water, creates a heavy native mud material that 
remains within the hole after drilling is completed. The density of this 
mud is relatively high, with respect to that of bentonite granular 
material, and thus holds the bentonite granular material in suspension at 
the top of the hole. 
A need remains within the industry for an improved method and apparatus for 
plugging abandoned drilled holes. It is an object of the present invention 
to meet this need. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of plugging holes 
which is simple, inexpensive and effective. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a method which 
may reliably seal water supplies from contamination and loss in holes 
passing into the earth. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a method which 
will clear any plugs from the hole and reliably pass plugging material to 
the bottom of the hole. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a plurality of 
capsules containing bentonite chips, of which the capsules may be dropped 
into a hole and ensured to sink to the bottom of the hole. 
It is a corollary object of the present invention to provide a capsule 
which affords minimal interference with expansion of the bentonite therein 
to fill the hole, such interference being minimized through the inclusion 
of a plurality of slots cut through the outer casing of the capsule which 
also function to maximize communication between the liquid outside the 
capsule and the bentonite inside. 
These and other objects are achieved by a method of plugging holes, in 
particular the plugging of drill holes in the earth. The first method 
consists of inserting an auger, having a bit at the lower end and a 
central rod about which is formed a helical land, into the drill hole and 
rotating the auger to cause material to be conveyed upward and out of the 
drill hole. As the auger is moved downward this will cause any plugs or 
debris within the hole to be removed. After the auger has been inserted to 
a sufficient depth the rotation of the auger is reversed, and bentonite or 
other plugging material is poured into the drill hole about the auger. The 
reversed rotation of the auger will cause the plugging material to be 
conveyed downward along the drill hole and compacted at the bottom. As the 
drill hole is filled with compacted plugging material the auger is slowly 
removed to form a consistent reliable plug of the plugging material. 
Alternative embodiments are used to fill the hole, including the use of 
encapsulated bentonite, large nodule sized bentonite and a hollow canister 
remotely dumped into the hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a mass of material 10 having an 
outer surface 12. The mass 10 may be uniform, or formed of a plurality of 
disparate layers. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the mass 10 is the 
earth, and includes a plurality of layers of geologic material formed in 
layers roughly parallel to the surface 12. For example, the upper surface 
12 would be formed of soil with the lower layers formed of shale, sand, 
limestone, and other typical materials. Additionally, such layers may 
include one or more water sources 14 such as a saline source or a water 
aquifer. 
A drill hole 16 extends into the mass 10 from the surface 12. The hole 16, 
where the mass 10 is the earth, is a blind hole and preferably extends on 
the order of 3.5 meters (100 feet). The hole 16 extends through several of 
the layers, possibly including one or more water source layers 14. As may 
be envisioned, where the hole 16 passes through one or more of the water 
bearing layers 14, such water bearing layer is subject to contamination 
from material falling into the hole 16 and from other water bearing layers 
14, and is also subject to loss due to flowing downward through the hole 
16 and into a fracture or uncharged zone, or of passing upwardly and out 
of the hole 16 in the case of a high volume artisan flow, all as indicated 
by arrows in FIG. 1. Another common feature of such holes 16 is a plug 
formation 18. The plug formation 18 is formed of a mass of material which 
has broken away from the side walls of the hole 16 and has become 
interengaged to block the hole 16, even though the remainder of the hole 
below the plug may be open. 
As noted above, when the purpose of the hole 16 has been completed the hole 
may be termed abandoned. For such abandoned holes it is highly desirable 
to plug the holes, typically with bentonite (of the type indicated above), 
to protect the water bearing layers 14. To effect such a plugging there is 
introduced into the holes 16 a standard auger drill having at its lower 
end a bit 20, an elongated central shaft 22 and a helically extending land 
formed on the exterior of shaft 22. The shaft and land are formed in 
segments which may be connected end-to-end to provide an auger drill of 
the proper depth. 
As is known in the art, the auger drill is rotated in the direction of 
arrow 26 as it is forced downward into the hole 16 (or into the solid mass 
10 to form the hole 16) such that the helical lands 24 will engage the 
particulate material generated by bit 20 and convey the particulate 
material towards the surface 12 with the side walls of the hole 16 acting 
as a surrounding sleeve. Once upon the surface 12 the particulate material 
will fall from the helical land and accumulate on the surface 12 adjacent 
the hole 16. 
As may be readily envisioned from FIG. 2, the use of the standard auger 
drill will clear any plug formations 18 present in the hole 16. 
Additionally, the auger drill is typically somewhat flexible, such that it 
may more readily follow existing abandoned holes 16, rather than drilling 
a separate or new hole. As such, continued rotation and insertion pressure 
upon the auger drill will eventually result in the drill extending the 
desired depth into the hole 16. If desired, the auger drill may continue 
to be rotated without downward pressure, such that all or most material 
engaged within the helical land is transported to the surface 12. Once the 
desired amount of particulate material has been removed from the hole and 
helical land, rotation of the auger drill is stopped. 
At this point the plugging material 28, preferably bentonite as described 
above, is poured into the hole 16 at the surface 12 while rotating the 
auger drill in the opposite direction, as indicated by arrow 30. Due to 
the opposite rotation of the auger drill, the helical land 24 will force 
material downward into the hole 16. Any remaining material within the 
helical land and the plugging material 28 will be thus be conveyed 
downward. At the lower end of the helical land this material will fall 
downward due to gravity. 
As the bit 20 of the auger drill is adjacent the lower end of hole 16 due 
to the previous steps, and is preferably below any water bearing layers 
14, the remaining particulate material and the plugging material 28 will 
be reliably displaced into the bottom of hole 16 below the water bearing 
layers 14. The process will continue, with additional plugging material 28 
falling below the auger drill, eventually filling the volume below the 
auger drill. Continued rotation of the auger drill and introduction of 
plugging material 28 will eventually cause compaction of the plugging 
material for even greater reliability. 
Once the volume below the auger drill bit 20 has been filled and possibly 
compacted, the rotation in the direction of arrow 30, and introduction of 
plugging material 28, is continued as the auger drill is raised out of 
hole 16. This raising of the auger drill may be at a slow continuous rate 
or may be in incremental steps. Regardless of the manner of raising, the 
overall rate should be such that a sufficient amount of the plugging 
material 28 is deposited along the hole 16, possibly with compacting as 
described above. 
This process will continue until the hole 16 has been filled with the 
plugging material 28 at least to a level above the water bearing layers 
14. Of course, this process could continue until the entire hole 16 has 
been filled with plugging material 28, or at least substantially filled 
such that plugging material may be introduced easily, without voids, after 
total withdrawal of the auger drill. 
As may be readily envisioned, the present method will reliably remove any 
debris plugs from the hole, and will reliably place the plugging material 
along the desired length of the hole 16, without the need to remove the 
auger drill. The present method therefore provides a high-quality plug 
without high labor costs and without expensive specialized drills. 
FIGS. 4-6 illustrate an alternative embodiment which utilizes a plurality 
of capsules 50 (FIG. 4) to fill each abandoned hole 70. The capsules 50 
contain coarse ground sodium bentonite 55 and have sufficient density to 
displace free standing material, such as water, slurry and mud, within the 
hole. The capsules 50 sink through the free standing liquid within the 
hole to assure that the capsules (and thus the bentonite) fill the hole 
from the bottom up. The capsules are inserted one after the other until 
the hole is filled to the desired level. If the hole contains mud having a 
density greater than that of a capsule 50, the user may push the bentonite 
capsules through the mud with one or more interconnectable rods (not 
shown) abutted against the rear surface of each capsule. 
As shown in FIG. 6, each capsule 50 includes a liquid soluble exterior 
cylindrical wall 52, such as one formed of cardboard, a water soluble 
material and the like. The cylindrical wall 52 includes a plurality of 
slots 54 cut therein. In the preferred embodiment, each slot extends in a 
direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the 
cylindrical wall 52. In the preferred embodiment, the slots 54 are aligned 
end to end with one another and separated via a spacing wall segments 56. 
The dimensions of the slots 54 and wall segments 56 may vary, so long as 
adjacent ends 58 of slots 54 are located proximate one another and are 
separated by less than a maximum wall segment distance 63. This maximum 
segment distance 63 is dictated by the dimensions of the capsule and the 
structural integrity of the material forming the wall 52. 
By way of example only, if a cardboard wall 52 is included with a thickness 
of approximately 1/4 inch, it is preferable to utilize a segment distance 
63 of no greater than two inches and preferably less than one inch. When 
the sodium bentonite 55 expands, the wall segments 56 fracture between 
adjacent slots 54 to minimize the confining forces created by the wall 52 
and to facilitate the expansion of the sodium bentonite 55 within the 
hole. This fracture is illustrated in FIG. 6 via the dashed line 60. 
Hence, the slots and wall segments 54 and 56 regulate the expansion rate 
to an extent. The slots 54 also provide a vehicle for allowing the liquid 
within the hole to penetrate the capsule and hydrate the sodium bentonite 
55. 
As shown in FIG. 6, the wall 52 includes a lower end 62 which is tapered to 
form a point. This point may be formed by merely crimping the cylindrical 
side wall at the lower end 62. The point enables the capsule to propagate 
easily through the material within the hole. A cap 64 is provided at the 
upper end of the wall 52 to close the capsule 50. The cap 64 may be formed 
of plastic or a similarly rigid material and is removable to facilitate 
filling of the capsule with sodium bentonite. As shown in FIG. 6, a 
plurality of vent holes 61 are also provided within the cylindrical wall 
to prevent moisture buildup within the capsule 50 during storage and to 
allow liquid to enter and air to leave the capsule 50 when in use. 
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate two alternative methods for inserting the capsules 
50 into a hole. FIG. 5 illustrates an extremely deep hole 70 containing 
water or a similarly viscous liquid 71 up to a level 72. The liquid within 
the hole 70 has a density less than that of a capsule 50 and thus the 
capsule 50 sinks through the liquid without assistance. While loosely 
poured coarse bentonite does not ordinarily have a density greater than 
the liquid 71 in the hole, the weight of a capsule with the closely packed 
bentonite therein affords such a density. Hence, the weight of the capsule 
plus the weight of the bentonite therein overcome the frictional forces 
exerted upon the exterior of the capsule by the liquid 71, and the capsule 
50 sinks. 
FIG. 5 illustrates a relatively deep hole, such as 50 feet or greater, with 
a liquid level 72 substantially below the ground level. In this situation, 
it may be preferable to attach a wire line or twine 74 to the bottom most 
capsule and lower same into the hole 70 at a controlled rate, thereby 
preventing the impact with the liquid level 72 from breaking the capsule. 
A plurality of capsules 51 may be inserted immediately after the lowermost 
capsule and piggybacked downward into the hole. Optionally, piggybacking 
capsules need not be formed with a tapered lower end. The line 74 also 
allows the user to measure the depth to which the lowest capsule 50 sinks. 
Once the capsule 50 has sunk to the bottom of the hole, the user cuts the 
line 74. 
In an alternative system, with holes having a higher liquid level 72 and 
when the user need not measure the depth to which the capsule 50 sinks, 
the line 74 is omitted. Instead, the capsule 50 is simply inserted into 
the hole and allowed to sink through the material 76 in the hole 70. If 
the material 76 has a density greater than that of the capsules 50, the 
user may insert one or more rods into the hole to push downward upon the 
top end cap 64 of each capsule to force same to the bottom of the hole 70. 
Once the capsules 50 are inserted into the hole, the water soluble exterior 
wall 52 begins to deteriorate rapidly. Simultaneously, the walls 52 and 
slots 54 allow liquid to enter the capsule and initiate rehydration. As 
the walls deteriorate and the liquid seeps through the slots 54, the water 
begins to hydrate the sodium bentonite 55. As the sodium bentonite 55 
hydrates, it swells causing interior pressure upon the cylindrical wall 
52. This pressure causes the fracture 60 between each of the slots 54 
until each of the slots 54 in one line communicate with one another 
without any separating wall segments 56. The wall 52 continues to 
deteriorate as the sodium bentonite 55 expands until the sodium bentonite 
fills the entire inside diameter of the hole 70 creating a solid plug 
which prevents movement of the liquid within the hole. 
Optionally, the slots 54 may be aligned in a staggered arrangement about 
the perimeter of the cylindrical wall 52 while maintaining wall segments 
56 within the desired dimension between adjacent ends 58 of adjoining 
slots 54. As a further option, a plurality of rows of slots 54 may be used 
and aligned about the perimeter of the cylindrical wall 52. 
Preferably, the sodium bentonite 55 is formed of coarse, dry, dehydrated, 
ground chips having a dimension between 2 inches and 1/4 inch in diameter, 
and optimally between 7/8 inch and 1 inch in diameter. The coarse, ground 
bentonite 55 typically swells to between 12 and 15 times its original size 
once hydrated. The ability of the bentonite to swell to this volume 
depends upon the availability of water and the space within the hole. 
Under ideal hole conditions, the swelling effect of the bentonite will 
create a pressure of up to 250 PSI within the hole. This swelling effect 
will halt any water flow within the bore hole thus providing greater 
protection for ground water. In this manner, the sodium bentonite prevents 
the co-mingling of various water sources, such as a saline water source 
with a fresh water aquifier. The swollen sodium bentonite further prevents 
surface contamination which results when water is allowed to flow downward 
into a hole to mix with a fresh water aquifier. The sodium bentonite 
further prevents the depletion of shallow aquifiers within the hole via a 
fracture or uncharged zone. 
It is preferable to use at least a 21/2 inch capsule in a 4 inch casing, a 
3 inch capsule in a 41/2 inch casing, a 4 inch capsule in a 51/2 inch 
casing and a 6 inch capsule in a 7 inch casing. 
FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the sodium bentonite 
is formed into large nodules that are poured into the hole in a free 
format, such as from a sack, bag, bucket and the like. The bentonite may 
be also discharged from a conveyor on a storage truck and the like. The 
bentonite is formed from large nodules having a predetermined minimum 
diameter of preferably at least 7/8 inches and optimally of at least 2 
inch. By utilizing large nodules, the material is afforded time to float 
or fall to the bottom of the drill hole before expanding to the point at 
which it plugs the hole. 
Each nodule expands at a rate proportional to the percentage content of 
liquid within the nodule. The rate at which a nodule absorbs liquid is 
dependent upon its surface area. The rate of hydration is related to the 
surface area of the nodule and to the volume of the nodule. However, the 
volume and surface area of a nodule vary with respect to nodule diameter 
at differing rates. Thus, when a spherical nodule's diameter doubles, the 
surface area similarly doubles, while the volume more than doubles. For 
this reason, as a nodule's diameter doubles, the amount of liquid absorbed 
by a nodule per unit time also doubles, while the volume of the nodule 
more than doubles. As the nodule increases in volume, it requires an equal 
increase in the amount of absorbed liquid to maintain a particular 
hydration ratio. The ratio of nodule surface area to nodule volume 
decreases as the nodule increases in diameter. Accordingly, the rate of 
hydration decreases (as does the rate of expansion) with increased nodule 
size. 
As noted above, it is necessary that the nodules have a diameter of at 
least 7/8 inches and less than 2 inches. A nodule with a diameter of less 
than 7/8 inches hydrates and expands too rapidly to allow the nodule to 
reach the bottom of a deep hole before plugging the hole. By way of 
example, a 3/8 inch diameter nodule will hydrate and swell sufficiently to 
turn to a slurry state in less than 30 minutes. Often drill holes are 
several hundred feet deep with over a hundred feet of liquid. Each nodule 
falls at a rate dependent upon the liquid's viscosity. However, generally 
the viscosities of the bentonite and the liquids within the holes is such 
that a nodule having a 3/8 inch diameter falls at a rate of 60 feet per 
minute. Such nodules require several minutes to reach the hole's bottom. 
Accordingly, 3/8 inch nodules swell too quickly and plug the hole before 
reaching the bottom or turn to a slurry state otherwise. 
Nodules having a 7/8 inch or greater diameter swell at a slow enough rate 
thereby allowing them to reach the bottom before plugging the hole. 
Nodules according to the present invention preferably have a maximum 
diameter of no greater than 3 inches and optimally no greater than 2 
inches. Optimally, a combination of nodules, having varying diameters 
between 1 inch and 2 inches, are used. Nodules between 1 and 2 inches will 
fall through liquid for at least 1/2 hour without excess swelling which is 
sufficient to reach the bottom of any hole. 
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which a hole 100 is lined 
with a casing 102. The hole 100 includes an inner diameter which is larger 
than the outer diameter of the casing to form an annulus void 104 about 
the casing. The upper portion of the hole includes a cement liner 106 
formed against the inner diameter of the hole. 
The lower end of the casing 102 includes perforations 108 which allow the 
product of interest to enter the interior 103 of the casing and to be 
pumped therefrom during production. 
As is understood in the industry, the casing, hole and liner arrangement 
illustrated in FIG. 8 is commonly encountered. This casing and liner 
alignment may be utilized in cooperation with any of the above discussed 
embodiments. 
As a further alternative embodiment, a canister 110 may be provided which 
is cylindrical in shape and hollow. The canister stores a large quantity 
of sodium bentonite either loose or in capsule form. The canister is air 
tight and water tight. A cable or hose 112 is attached to the upper end of 
the canister in order to allow users to lower the canister into the casing 
to a desired depth. Once the canister 110 is lowered to the desired depth 
(which may be above or below the water level 114), the user remotely opens 
the bottom end 116 of the canister. The bottom end 116 is hingeably 
mounted to the canister and may be open via an electronic solenoid or a 
mechanical lever, either of which are remotely activated by the user at 
the top of the hole. Once the door 116 is opened, the sodium bentonite 118 
falls from the bottom of the canister and collects at the bottom of the 
hole. By using an air tight and water tight canister 110, the sodium 
bentonite is isolated from exposure to the liquid until the canister is at 
a desired depth. This depth may be immediately adjacent the bottom of the 
hole. If the canister 110 is lowered to the bottom of the hole, a variety 
of sodium bentonite sizes may be utilized, ranging from an extremely small 
granule to large nodules. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the size of the 
granule-is not critical when the canister 110 is lowered to the bottom of 
the hole prior to subjecting the sodium bentonite to the liquid. However, 
if it is preferable to maintain the canister 110 at a great distance above 
the bottom of the hole and even above the water level, then it is 
necessary to use larger diameter nodules of sodium bentonite (as discussed 
above in connection with FIG. 7) in order to allow the nodules to reach 
the bottom of the hole before turning to a slurry state or swelling to 
such a degree as to plug the hole. 
As is understood in the industry, the casing, hole and liner arrangement 
illustrated in FIG. 8 is commonly encountered. This casing and liner 
alignment may be utilized in cooperation with any of the above discussed 
embodiments. 
During operation, it is often desirable to perform several pre-plugging and 
post-plugging steps to facilitate the use of sodium bentonite. As is well 
known in the industry, many types of drill holes such as oil wells and gas 
wells are lined (once drilled) with a casing (as shown in FIG. 8). Product 
is pumped through the casing perforations during production. The outer 
diameter of the casing is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the 
hole. Initially, a wire line is lowered down to the bottom of the hole to 
determine whether the casing is entacted and to locate the water level. 
Next, a packing is lowered into the hole to a position immediately above 
the perforations. The packing forms an air tight seal with the wall of the 
casing. The casing integrity is tested by applying high pressure air 
(e.g., 500 PSI) to the hole and determining whether this pressure is "bled 
off" through cracks in the casing. If the casing holds the air pressure, 
then the casing wall is air tight from the packing to the top of the hole. 
If the casing wall is air tight, then sodium bentonite only need be loaded 
to a desired point above the perforations (approximately 100 feet above 
the perforations). If the casing integrity is bad and it is unable to 
sustain the high pressure casing test, then a bridging plug is set below 
the hole and a 100 foot sodium bentonite plug is displaced above this 
point. By filling the hole 100 feet above the bridging plug with sodium 
bentonite, cracks in the casing are sealed and the potential for water 
migration within the hole arrested. 
Once the casing is tested, the sodium bentonite is added by one or more of 
the foregoing manners to the desired level. The sodium bentonite is 
allowed to expand and seal the hole. Thereafter, the seal is tested by 
again pressurizing the hole (e.g., to 500 PSI) and determining whether the 
pressure is maintained. Next, an additional portion of sodium bentonite is 
added at the top of the hole about the outer perimeter of the casing into 
the annulus void between the production casing and surface casing. This 
additional portion of sodium bentonite seals the outer region surrounding 
the casing. Finally, an end cap is sealed over the opening. 
In all of the foregoing embodiments, it is necessary to control the ratio 
of the volume of bentonite versus the volume of hole. If too little 
bentonite is added it turns to a slurry state before the hole walls arrest 
its growth at a solid state. It is desirable to fill a hole with at least 
40% by volume of dehydrated sodium bentonite in order that it may react 
with the remaining 60% by volume of water within the hole. 
When estimating an amount of necessary bentonite, 2-3 inches of additional 
expansion must be accounted for in order to allow for casing failure. When 
the casing fails, the bentonite expands to the inner diameter of the hole. 
The sodium bentonite previously stored in the hole further swells and is 
able to fill this additional 2-3 inches in diameter since liquid is 
present in the hole thereby causing the bentonite to swell no matter how 
much time has past. 
If a plastic capsule is used, it will prevent hydration of the bentonite 
until the capsule reaches the bottom and dissolves. The plastic capsule 
may be formed with an accelerator additive to increase the dissolution 
rate of the plastic. 
In the canister embodiment of FIG. 8, pressurized air or water may be added 
to the full canister to force the bentonite out of the canister when the 
door is opened. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted 
to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the 
other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the 
structure. 
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of 
utility and may be employed without reference to other features and 
subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the 
claims. 
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without 
departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter 
herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be 
interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.