Prevention of water loss through CAB plastic sediment core liners

Cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) core liners lose water through pores in the plastic. A wax bath has been developed to coat liners with a microcrystalline wax to retard water loss. Sealing properties of this wax are compared with those of paraffin and a combination of aluminum foil and microcrystalline wax. Over a 50-day period uncoated liners lost water at an average rate of 21·1 × 10⁻⁴ g/day/cm² of surface area, while liners coated with microcrystalline wax or with paraffin lost less than 3·3 × 10⁻⁴ g/day/cm². Liners coated with foil and wax did not lose water during the test.