BENTONITE

An introduction to Bentonite which is a highly colloidal clay mineral formed due to the decomposition of volcanic ashes, it has the ability to absorb large quantities of water and expand to several times its normal volume, it gets its name from the place where it was first discovered – Fort Benton, America.

Bentonite is naturally occurring hydrated Alumina Silicate, there are two types of bentonites mainly calcium and sodium. Sodium Bentonite swells or expands to a greater degree than its calcium equivalent. Sodium Bentonite has higher swelling capacity, this property develops higher viscosity in suspensions, greater state of disaggregation, formation of smaller clay particles or greater colloidal properties.

The greatest application of sodium bentonite in industries is the result of its swelling property. The sodium bentonite having more water absorption capacity makes it suitable for industries like Foundry and civil engineering application and the calcium bentonite absorb lesser then sodium still it has some special application like cosmetics, paper Animal feed binder as many more to describe.