Composite particles and methods for their application and implementation

A method of treating a contaminated material comprising forming a low-permeability barrier over the contaminated material thereby creating a substantially hydraulically closed system and treating the material beneath the barrier by at least one of delivering a substance with a delivery device to treat the contamination and removing flowable material from beneath the barrier, wherein the low-permeability barrier is formed by applying a flowable material comprising a plurality of manufactured composite particles including a core and a sealant layer at least partially encapsulating the core, the sealant layer comprising sealant material capable of at least one of absorbing water, swelling and reacting to form the barrier, the composite particle having a specific gravity greater than one.

A method of treating a contaminated material comprising forming a low-permeability barrier over the contaminated material thereby creating a substantially hydraulically closed system and treating the material beneath the barrier by at least one of delivering a substance with a delivery device to treat the contamination and removing flowable material from beneath the barrier, wherein the contaminated material comprises a permanently or periodically subaqueous contaminated material occurring in deepwater or wetland environments characterized by freshwater to saline conditions, and wherein the low-permeability barrier is formed by applying a flowable material comprising a plurality of manufactured composite particles including a core and a sealant layer at least partially encapsulating the core, the sealant layer comprising sealant material capable of at least one of absorbing water, swelling and reacting to form the barrier, the composite particle having a specific gravity greater than one.