Bentonite is a colloidal clay mineral that has good viscosity and liquid limit as well as high swelling properties. These characteristics are very helpful in industrial settings like foundries and pellet preparation. As a fluid suspending agent for well-drilling fluids, bentonite is also used. Additionally, it has strong hot and dry and green properties, which help to keep moulds from breaking or cracking during cooling or pouring processes in the construction industry. A few of the major uses of bentonite include the production of iron ore pellets, pharmaceuticals, detergents, paints, cosmetics, dyes, paper, polishes, and animal feed.
Quarrying is the typical method used to exploit bentonite deposits. Even at a moisture content of around 30%, extracted bentonite is clearly solid. The material is first crushed, and if necessary, soda ash is added to activate it (Na2CO3). Then, the bentonite is dried (by forced or air drying) to a moisture content of about 15%. The final application determines whether bentonite is sieved (granular form) or milled (into powder and super fine powder form). For specialised applications, bentonite is purified by removing the gangue minerals, acid-activated bentonite (bleaching earths), organoclays, or bentonite treated with organics. The Global Bentonite Market is estimated to account for US$ 2,810.16 million in terms of value and 41,010.40 Thousand Metric Tonnes in terms of volume by the end of 2027. When making moulding sand for the production of iron, steel, and non-ferrous casting, bentonite is used as a bonding substance. For the creation of high-quality castings, the special qualities of bentonite produce green sand moulds with good flowability, compactability, and thermal stability. Bentonite is used for cat litter because it has the benefit of absorbing waste by clumping (which can be easily removed), leaving the remaining material intact for subsequent uses. Bentonite is a binding agent used in the pelletization process to create iron ore pellets. Through this method, iron ore fines are transformed into spherical pellets that can be used as feedstock in blast furnaces to produce pig iron or direct reduction iron (DRI). Construction and civil engineering: Bentonite is traditionally used as a support, lubricant, and thixotropic agent in diaphragm walls and foundations, tunnelling, horizontal directional drilling, and pipe jacking. Bentonite is also used in Portland cement and mortars because of its viscosity and plasticity. Water treatment benefits greatly from the adsorption/absorption capabilities of bentonite. To ensure the protection of groundwater from pollutants, common environmental directives advise using low permeability soils, which naturally contain bentonite, as a sealing material when building and renovating landfills. The geosynthetic clay liners' active protective layer is bentonite. Agriculture: Bentonite is used in the production of animal feed pellets, as a pelletizing aid, as a flowability aid for unconsolidated feed ingredients like soy meal, and as a supplement for animal feed for animals. Additionally, it functions as an ion exchanger to improve and condition the soil. It can be used as a porous ceramic carrier for different pesticides and herbicides after being thermally treated. Drilling: The traditional use of bentonite in drilling mud for water and oil wells is drilling. Its primary functions are to lubricate the cutting head, remove drill cuttings, and seal the borehole walls. Bentonite is used to remove impurities from oils, and its adsorptive properties are essential in the processing of edible oils and fats (such as soy, palm, and canola oil). Bentonite is used as a clarification agent in foods like sugar or honey as well as beverages like beer, wine, and mineral water.
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