US Patent Issued on April 14 for "System and method for sealing a well using controlled hydration expansion of a smectite-containing clay mineral" (Australian Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,600,895, issued on April 14.

"System and method for sealing a well using controlled hydration expansion of a smectite-containing clay mineral" was invented by Paul Duncan Hywel-Evans (Hornsby, Australia).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method of controlled hydration expansion of a smectite-containing day mineral (SCM) within an aqueous environment in a confined volumetric space, the method comprising the steps of: -introducing an amount of an SCM into said volumetric space via an inlet thereinto, and initiating the hydration expansion of the SCM to release SCM particles into the confined volumetric space, and increase the pressure there...