As GSI has adopted a new Vision in 2008 and aspires to develop into a world class institution and create
a close knit geoscientific community, GSI's Portal is a key element in its strategy. The process of striving
for excellence requires GSI to continually seek feedback on the quality of its service and accordingly, GSI
seeks, through this Portal application, comments on any aspect of its functioning which a stakeholder or
interested person would like to bring to notice. This Portal application is designed so that
Anyone can offer comments; the comment will be acted upon and to the extent possible, the
response and further action will also be posted on the Portal unless the person indicates
otherwise.
Since the purpose of the feedback is to improve GSI service level, individual issues may be
addressed through systematic changes and this application should not be treated as
an in-house grievance redressal forum.
Clay minerals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Oxford Clay (Jurassic) exposed near Weymouth, England.
Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, sometimes with variable amounts of
iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths and other cations. Clays have structures
similar to the micas and therefore form flat hexagonal sheets. Clay minerals are common
weathering products (including weathering of feldspar) and low temperature hydrothermal
alteration products. Clay minerals are very common in fine grained sedimentary rocks such as
shale, mudstone and siltstone and in fine grained metamorphic slate and phyllite.
Clays are ultra fine grained (normally considered to be less than 2 micrometres in size on
standard particle size classifications) and so require special analytical techniques. Standards
include x-ray diffraction, electron diffraction methods, various spectroscopic methods such as
Mossbauer spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and EDS or energy dispersive spectroscopy.
These methods should always augment standard polarized light microscopy, a technique
which is sometimes overlooked but often where fundamental occurrences or petrologic
relationships are established.
Clays are commonly referred to as 1:1 or 2:1. Clays are fundamentally built of tetrahedral
sheets and octahedral sheets, as described in the Structure section below. A 1:1 clay would
consist of one tetrahedral sheet and one octahedral sheet, and examples would be kaolinite
and serpentine. A 2:1 clay consists of an octahedral sheet sandwiched between two tetrahedral
sheets, and examples are illite, smectite, attapulgite, and chlorite (although chlorite has an
external octahedral sheet often referred to as "brucite").
Clay minerals include the following groups:
Kaolin group which includes the minerals kaolinite, dickite, halloysite and nacrite.[1]
o Some sources include the serpentine group due to structural similarities
(Bailey 1980).
Smectite group which includes dioctahedral smectites such as montmorillonite and
nontronite and trioctahedral smectites for example saponite.[1]
Illite group which includes the clay-micas. Illite is the only common mineral.[1]
Chlorite group includes a wide variety of similar minerals with considerable chemical
variation.[1]
Other 2:1 clay types exist such as sepiolite or attapulgite, clays with long water
channels internal to their structure.
Mixed layer clay variations exist for most of the above groups. Ordering is described as
random or regular ordering, and is further described by the term Reichweite, which is
German for range or reach. Literature articles will refer to a R1 ordered illite-smectite, for
example. This type would be ordered in an ISISIS fashion. R0 on the other hand describes
random ordering, and other advanced ordering types are also found (R3, etc). Mixed layer
clay minerals which are perfect R1 types often get their own names. R1 ordered chloritesmectite is known as corrensite, R1 illite-smectite is rectorite. More information on clays and
mixed layer identification can be found in Moore and Reynolds (1997).[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Structure
3 See also
4 References
[edit] History
Knowledge of the nature of clay became better understood in the 1930s with advancements in
x-ray diffraction technology necessary to analyze the molecular nature of clay particles.[3]
Standardization in terminology arose during this period as well[3] with special attention given
to similar words that resulted in confusion such as sheet and plane.[3]
[edit] Structure
Like all phyllosilicates, clay minerals are characterised by two-dimensional sheets of corner
sharing SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedra. These tetrahedral sheets have the chemical composition
(Al,Si)3O4, and each tetrahedron shares 3 of its vertex oxygen atoms with other tetrahedra
forming a hexagonal array in two-dimensions. The fourth vertex is not shared with another
tetrahedron and all of the tetrahedra "point" in the same direction (i.e. all of the unshared
vertices are on the same side of the sheet).
In clays the tetrahedral sheets are always bonded to octahedral sheets formed from small
cations, such as aluminium or magnesium, coordinated by six oxygen atoms. The unshared
vertex from the tetrahedral sheet also form part of one side of the octahedral sheet but an
additional oxygen atom is located above the gap in the tetrahedral sheet at the center of the
six tetrahedra. This oxygen atom is bonded to a hydrogen atom forming an OH group in the
clay structure. Clays can be categorised depending on the way that tetrahedral and octahedral
sheets are packaged into layers. If there is only one tetrahedral and one octahedral group in
each layer the clay is known as a 1:1 clay. The alternative, known as a 2:1 clay, has two
tetrahedral sheets with the unshared vertex of each sheet pointing towards each other and
forming each side of the octahedral sheet.
Bonding between the tetrahedral and octahedral sheets requires that the tetrahedral sheet
becomes corrogated or twisted, causing ditrigonal distortion to the hexagonal array, and the
octahedral sheet is flattened. This minimizes the overall bond-valence distortions of the
crystallite.
Depending on the composition of the tetrahedral and octahedral sheets, the layer will have no
charge, or will have a net negative charge. If the layers are charged this charge is balanced by
interlayer cations such as Na+ or K+. In each case the interlayer can also contain water. The
crystal structure is formed from a stack of layers interspaced with the interlayers.
[edit] See also
Clay
Expansive clay
[edit] References
1. ^ a b c d Amethyst Galleries. "The Clay Mineral Group." 2006. February 22, 2007. [1]
2. ^ Moore, D. and R.C. Reynolds, Jr., 1997, X-Ray Diffraction and the Identification
and Analysis of Clay Minerals, 2nd ed.: Oxford University Press, New York
3. ^ a b c Bailey, S. W., 1980, Summary of recommendations of AIPEA nomenclature
committee on clay minerals, American Mineralogist Volume 65, pages 1-7. [2]
Clay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation).
The Gay Head cliffs in Martha's Vineyard consist almost entirely of clay.
Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which
show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when
dried or fired. Clay deposits are mostly composed of clay minerals (phyllosilicate minerals),
minerals which impart plasticity and harden when fired or dried, and variable amounts of
water trapped in the mineral structure by polar attraction. Organic materials which do not
impart plasticity may also be a part of clay deposits.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Formation
2 Definition
3 Grouping
4 Historical and modern uses
o 4.1 Medical and agricultural uses
5 See also
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 External links
[edit] Formation
Deforestation for clay extraction in Rio de Janeiro city - Brazil. The picture is of Morro da
Covanca - Jacarepagu.
Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemical
weathering of rocks, usually silicate-bearing, by low concentrations of carbonic acid and
other diluted solvents. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the weathering rock
after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some
clay minerals are formed by hydrothermal activity. Clay deposits may be formed in place as
residual deposits in soil, but thick deposits usually are formed as the result of a secondary
sedimentary deposition process after they have been eroded and transported from their
original location of formation. Clay deposits are typically associated with very low energy
depositional environments such as large lakes and marine deposits.
Primary clays, also known as kaolins, are located at the site of formation. Secondary clay
deposits have been moved by erosion and water from their primary location[2].
[edit] Definition
Clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy.
Silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger
particle sizes than clays, but there is some overlap in both particle size and other physical
properties, and there are many naturally occurring deposits which include both silts and clays.
The distinction between silt and clay varies by discipline. Geologists and soil scientists
usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 m (clays being finer than
silts), sedimentologists often use 4-5 m, and colloid chemists use 1 m.[1] Geotechnical
engineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as
measured by the soils' Atterberg Limits. ISO 14688 grades clay particles as being smaller
than 2 m and silts larger.
Quaternary clay in Estonia.
[edit] Grouping
Depending on the academic source, there are three or four main groups of clays: kaolinite,
montmorillonite-smectite, illite and chlorite. Chlorites are not always considered a clay,
sometimes being classified as a separate group within the phyllosilicates. There are
approximately 30 different types of "pure" clays in these categories, but most "natural" clays
are mixtures of these different types, along with other weathered minerals.
Varve (or varved clay) is clay with visible annual layers, formed by seasonal differences in
erosion and organic content. This type of deposit is common in former glacial lakes. When
glacial lakes are formed there is very little movement of the water that makes the lake, and
these eroded soils settle on the lake bed. This allows such an even distribution on the different
layers of clay.[3].
Quick clay is a unique type of marine clay indigenous to the glaciated terrains of Norway,
Canada, Northern Ireland and Sweden. It is a highly sensitive clay, prone to liquefaction,
which has been involved in several deadly landslides.
[edit] Historical and modern uses
Clay layers in a construction site. Dry clay is normally much more stable than sand with
regard to excavations.
Clays exhibit plasticity when mixed with water in certain proportions. When dry, clay
becomes firm and when fired in a kiln, permanent physical and chemical reactions occur.
These reactions, among other changes, cause the clay to be converted into a ceramic material.
Because of these properties, clay is used for making pottery items, both utilitarian and
decorative. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions,
are used to produce earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Prehistoric humans discovered the
useful properties of clay, and one of the earliest artifacts ever uncovered is a drinking vessel
made of sun-dried clay.[citation needed] Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appear in
various colors, from a dull gray to a deep orange-red.
Clay tablets were used as the first writing medium, inscribed with cuneiform script through
the use of a blunt reed called a stylus.
Clays sintered in fire were the first form of ceramic. Bricks, cooking pots, art objects,
dishware and even musical instruments such as the ocarina can all be shaped from clay before
being fired. Clay is also used in many industrial processes, such as paper making, cement
production and chemical filtering. Clay is also often used in the manufacture of pipes for
smoking tobacco. Until the late 20th century bentonite clay was widely used as a mold binder
in the manufacture of sand castings.
Clay, being relatively impermeable to water, is also used where natural seals are needed, such
as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage ('lining' the landfill,
preferably in combination with geotextiles).[4]
Recent studies have investigated clay's absorption capacities in various applications, such as
the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.
[edit] Medical and agricultural uses
A traditional use of clay, such as Armenian bole, is to soothe an upset stomach, similar to the
way parrots (and later, humans) in South America originally used it.[5]
A more recent, and more limited, use is as a specially formulated spray applied to fruits,
vegetables and other vegetation to repel or deter codling moth damage, and at least for
apples, to prevent sun scald.
A recent article in The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy found that certain iron-rich
clay was effective in killing bacteria.[6]
[edit] See also
Look up clay in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Clay
Bentonite
List of minerals
Ceramic
London Clay
Clay (industrial plasticine)
Modelling clay
Clay animation
Paperclay
Clay court
Particle size
Clay minerals
Plasticine
Clay pit
Pottery
Geophagy (eating of soils, including eating of clay)
Vertisol
Expansive clay
Graham Cairns-Smith, proposed the 'clay theory' of
abiogenesis
[edit] Footnotes
1. ^ a b Guggenheim & Martin 1995, pp. 255256
2. ^ Environmental Characteristics of Clays and Clay Mineral Deposits
3. ^ Environmental Characteristics of Clays and Clay Mineral Deposits
4. ^ Preliminary evaluation of a compacted bentonite / sand mixture as a landfill liner material
(Abstract) - Kokar, Mustafa K.; Akgn, Haluk; Aktrk, zgr; Department of Geological
Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
5. ^ http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html Evolutionary biology: Dirty eating for
healthy living by Jared M. Diamond
6. ^ http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/61/2/353 Broad-spectrum in vitro
antibacterial activities of clay minerals against antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant
bacterial pathogens
[edit] References
Guggenheim, Stephen; Martin, R. T. (1995), "Definition of clay and clay mineral:
Journal report of the AIPEA nomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees",
Clays and Clay Minerals 43: 255256, doi:10.1346/CCMN.1995.0430213,
http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-2-255.pdf
Clay mineral nomenclature American Mineralogist.
Ehlers, Ernest G. and Blatt, Harvey (1982). 'Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, and
Metamorphic' San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1279-2.
Hillier S. (2003) Clay Mineralogy. pp 139142 In: Middleton G.V., Church M.J.,
Coniglio M., Hardie L.A. and Longstaffe F.J.(Editors) Encyclopedia of sediments and
sedimentary rocks. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Clay
Building the Phyllosilicates University of New Hampshire
The Clay Minerals Group of the Mineralogical Society
Historical information about the clays of North Staffordshire, UK
Information about clays used in the UK pottery industry
The Clay Minerals Society
Plasticity of clay
The clay minerals are a part of a general but important group within the phyllosilicates that
contain large percentages of water trapped between the silicate sheets. Most clays are
chemically and structurally analogous to other phyllosilicates but contain varing amounts of
water and allow more substitution of their cations. There are many important uses and
considerations of clay minerals. They are used in manufacturing, drilling, construction and
paper production. They have geat importance to crop production as clays are a significant
component of soils.
It is the physical characteristics of clays that more so than the chemical and structural
characteristics define this group:
Clay minerals tend to form microscopic to sub microscopic crystals.
They can absorb water or lose water from simple humidity changes.
When mixed with limited amounts of water, clays become plastic and are able to be
molded and formed in ways that most people are familiar with as children's clay.
When water is absorbed, clays will often expand as the water fills the spaces between
the stacked silicate layers.
Due to the absorption of water, the specific gravity of clays is highly variable and is
lowered with increased water content.
The hardness of clays is difficult to determine due to the microscopic nature of the
crystals, but actual hardness is usually between 2 - 3 and many clays give a hardness
of 1 in field tests.
Clays tend to form from weathering and secondary sedimentary processes with only a
few examples of clays forming in primary igneous or metamorphic environments.
Clays are rarely found separately and are usually mixed not only with other clays but
with microscopic crystals of carbonates, feldspars, micas and quartz.
Clay minerals are divided into four major groups. These are the important clay mineral
groups:
The Kaolinite Group
This group has three members (kaolinite, dickite and nacrite) and a formula of
Al2Si2O5(OH)4. The different minerals are polymorphs, meaning that they have the
same chemistry but different structures (polymorph = many forms). The general
structure of the kaolinite group is composed of silicate sheets (Si2O5) bonded to
aluminum oxide/hydroxide layers (Al2(OH)4) called gibbsite layers. The silicate and
gibbsite layers are tightly bonded together with only weak bonding existing between
the s-g paired layers.
Uses: In ceramics, as a filler for paint, rubber and plastics and the largest use is in the
paper industry that uses kaolinite to produce a glossy paper such as is used in most
magazines.
The Montmorillonite/Smectite Group
This group is composed of several minerals including pyrophyllite, talc, vermiculite,
sauconite, saponite, nontronite and montmorillonite They differ mostly in chemical
content. The general formula is (Ca, Na, H)(Al, Mg, Fe, Zn)2(Si, Al)4O10(OH)2 xH2O, where x represents the variable amount of water that members of this group
could contain. Talc's formula, for example, is Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. The gibbsite layers
of the kaolinite group can be replaced in this group by a similar layer that is analogous
to the oxide brucite, (Mg2(OH)4). The structure of this group is composed of silicate
layers sandwiching a gibbsite (or brucite) layer in between, in an s-g-s stacking
sequence. The variable amounts of water molecules would lie between the s-g-s
sandwiches.
Uses: Are many and include a facial powder (talc), filler for paints and rubbers, an
electrical, heat and acid resistant porcelain, in drilling muds and as a plasticizer in
molding sands and other materials.
The Illite (or The Clay-mica) Group
This group is basically a hydrated microscopic muscovite. The mineral illite is the
only common mineral represented, however it is a significant rock forming mineral
being a main component of shales and other argillaceous rocks. The general formula
is (K, H)Al2(Si, Al)4O10(OH)2 - xH2O, where x represents the variable amount of
water that this group could contain. The structure of this group is similar to the
montmorillonite group with silicate layers sandwiching a gibbsite-like layer in
between, in an s-g-s stacking sequence. The variable amounts of water molecules
would lie between the s-g-s sandwiches as well as the potassium ions.
Uses: A common constituent in shales and is used as a filler and in some drilling
muds.
The Chlorite Group
This group is not always considered a part of the clays and is sometimes left alone as
a separate group within the phyllosilicates. It is a relatively large and common group
although its members are not well known. These are some of the recognized
members:
Amesite (Mg, Fe)4Al4Si2O10(OH)8
Baileychlore (Zn, Fe+2, Al, Mg)6(Al, Si)4O10(O, OH)8
Chamosite (Fe, Mg)3Fe3AlSi3O10(OH)8
Clinochlore (kaemmererite) (Fe, Mg)3Fe3AlSi3O10(OH)8
Cookeite LiAl5Si3O10(OH)8
Corundophilite (Mg, Fe, Al)6(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Daphnite (Fe, Mg)3(Fe, Al)3(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Delessite (Mg, Fe+2, Fe+3, Al)6(Al, Si)4O10(O, OH)8
Gonyerite (Mn, Mg)5(Fe+3)2Si3O10(OH)8
Nimite (Ni, Mg, Fe, Al)6AlSi3O10(OH)8
Odinite (Al, Fe+2, Fe+3, Mg)5(Al, Si)4O10(O, OH)8
Orthochamosite (Fe+2, Mg, Fe+3)5Al2Si3O10(O, OH)8
Penninite (Mg, Fe, Al)6(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Pannantite (Mn, Al)6(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Rhipidolite (prochlore) (Mg, Fe, Al)6(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Sudoite (Mg, Fe, Al)4 - 5(Al, Si)4O10(OH)8
Thuringite (Fe+2, Fe+3, Mg)6(Al, Si)4O10(O, OH)8
The term chlorite is used to denote any member of this group when differentiation
between the different members is not possible. The general formula is X46Y4O10(OH, O)8. The X represents either aluminum, iron, lithium, magnesium,
manganese, nickel, zinc or rarely chromium. The Y represents either aluminum,
silicon, boron or iron but mostly aluminum and silicon.
The gibbsite layers of the other clay groups are replaced in the chlorites by a similar
layer that is analogous to the oxide brucite. The structure of this group is composed
of silicate layers sandwiching a brucite or brucite-like layer in between, in an s-b-s
stacking sequence similar to the above groups. However, in the chlorites, there is an
extra weakly bonded brucite layer in between the s-b-s sandwiches. This gives the
structure an s-b-s b s-b-s b sequence. The variable amounts of water molecules would
lie between the s-b-s sandwiches and the brucite layers.
Uses: No industrial uses.
Some minerals listed above (specifically chlorite, pyrophyllite and talc) as belonging to one
of the clay groups are often excluded by some minerologists. Usually the reason is that their
crystal size and character due not consistently conform to those parameters that define a clay.
Such minerals are listed here more for their structural similarities, however all three minerals
are quite often found associated with and do behave like clays occassionally.
Industrial uses
Clays are perhaps the oldest materials from which humans have manufactured various
artifacts. The making of fired bricks possibly started some 5,000 years ago and was most
likely humankinds second earliest industry after agriculture. The use of clays (probably
smectite) as soaps and absorbents was reported in Natural History by the Roman author Pliny
the Elder (c. ad 77).
Clays composed of kaolinite are required for the manufacture of porcelain, whiteware, and
refractories. Talc, pyrophyllite, feldspar, and quartz are often used in whiteware bodies,
along with kaolinite clay, to develop desirable shrinkage and burning properties. Clays ...
(100 of 7775 words)
Bentonite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Bentonite - USGS
Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, generally impure clay consisting mostly
of montmorillonite. There are different types of bentonites and their names depend on the
dominant elements, such as potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and aluminum (Al).
As noted in several places in the geologic literature, there are some nomenclatorial problems
with the classification of bentonite clays. Bentonite usually forms from weathering of
volcanic ash, most often in the presence of water. However, the term bentonite, as well as a
similar clay called tonstein, have been used for clay beds of uncertain origin. For industrial
purposes, two main classes of bentonite exist: sodium and calcium bentonite. In stratigraphy
and tephrochronology, completely devitrified (weathered volcanic glass) ash-fall beds are
commonly referred to as K-bentonites when the dominant clay species is illite. Other
common clay species, and sometimes dominant, are montmorillinite and kaolinite. Kaolinite
dominated clays are commonly referred to as tonsteins and are typically associated with coal.
Contents
[hide]
1 Sodium bentonite
2 Calcium bentonite
3 Potassium bentonite
4 Uses
5 History and natural occurrence
6 References
7 External links
8 Further reading
[edit] Sodium bentonite
Sodium bentonite expands when wet, possibly absorbing several times its dry mass in water.
Because of its excellent colloidal properties (see Odom ref below) it is often used in drilling
mud for oil and gas wells and for geotechnical and environmental investigations.
The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, especially for the
sealing of subsurface disposal systems for spent nuclear fuel [1] [2] and for quarantining
metal pollutants of groundwater. Similar uses include making slurry walls, waterproofing of
below-grade walls and forming other impermeable barriers: e.g., to seal off the annulus of a
water well, to plug old wells, or as a liner in the base of landfills to prevent migration of
leachate.
Sodium bentonite can also be "sandwiched" between synthetic materials to create geosynthetic clay liners (GCL) for the aforementioned purposes. This technique allows for more
convenient transport and installation and it greatly reduces the volume of sodium bentonite
required.
Various surface modifications to sodium bentonite improve some rheological or sealing
performance in geoenviromental applications, for example the addition of polymers [1].
[edit] Calcium bentonite
Calcium bentonite is a useful adsorbent of ions in solution.[2][3] as well as fats and oils, being a
main active ingredient of fuller's earth, probably one of the earliest industrial cleaning agents.
[4]
Calcium bentonite may be converted to sodium bentonite (termed sodium beneficiation or
sodium activation) to exhibit many of sodium bentonite's properties by a process known as
"ion exchange" (patented in 1935 by Germans U Hofmann and K Endell). Commonly this
means adding 5-10% of a soluble sodium salt such as sodium carbonate to wet bentonite,
mixing well, and allowing time for the ion exchange to take place and water to remove the
exchanged calcium.[citation needed] Some properties, such as viscosity and fluid loss of
suspensions, of sodium beneficiated calcium bentonite (or sodium activated bentonite) may
not be fully equivalent to natural sodium bentonite.[5] For example, residual calcium
carbonates (formed if exchanged cations are insufficiently removed) may result in inferior
performance of the bentonite in geosynthetic liners[6]
[edit] Potassium bentonite
Also known as potash bentonite or K-bentonite, potassium bentonite is a potassium rich illitic
clay formed from alteration of volcanic ash.[7]
[edit] Uses
Much of bentonite's usefulness in the drilling and geotechnical engineering industry comes
from its unique rheological properties. Relatively small quantities of bentonite suspended in
water form a viscous, shear thinning material. Most often, bentonite suspensions are also
thixotropic, although rare cases of rheopectic behavior have also been reported. At high
enough concentrations (~60 grams of bentonite per litre of suspension), bentonite suspensions
begin to take on the characteristics of a gel (a fluid with a minimum yield strength required to
make it move). For these reasons it is a common component of drilling mud used to curtail
drilling fluid invasion by its propensity for aiding in the formation of mud cake.
Bentonite can be used in cement, adhesives, ceramic bodies, and cat litter. Bentonite is also
used as a binding agent in the manufacture of taconite pellets as used in the steelmaking
industry. Fuller's earth, an ancient dry cleaning substance, is finely ground bentonite,
typically used for purifying transformer oil. Bentonite, in small percentages, is used as an
ingredient in commercially designed clay bodies and ceramic glazes. Bentonite clay is also
used in pyrotechnics to make end plugs and rocket engine nozzles.
The ionic surface of bentonite has a useful property in making a sticky coating on sand
grains. When a small proportion of finely ground bentonite clay is added to hard sand and
wetted, the clay binds the sand particles into a moldable aggregate known as green sand used
for making molds in sand casting. Some river deltas naturally deposit just such a blend of
such clay silt and sand, creating a natural source of excellent molding sand that was critical to
ancient metalworking technology. Modern chemical processes to modify the ionic surface of
bentonite greatly intensify this stickiness, resulting in remarkably dough-like yet strong
casting sand mixes that stand up to molten metal temperatures.
The same effluvial deposition of bentonite clay onto beaches accounts for the variety of
plasticity of sand from place to place for building sand castles. Beach sand consisting of only
silica and shell grains does not mold well compared to grains coated with bentonite clay. This
is why some beaches are much better for building sand castles than others.
The self-stickiness of bentonite allows high-pressure ramming or pressing of the clay in
molds to produce hard, refractory shapes, such as model rocket nozzles. Indeed, to test
whether a particular brand of cat litter is bentonite, simply ram a sample with a hammer into a
sturdy tube with a close-fitting rod; bentonite will form a very hard, consolidated plug that is
not easily crumbled.
Bentonite also has the interesting property of adsorbing relatively large amounts of protein
molecules from aqueous solutions. It is therefore uniquely useful in the process of
winemaking, where it is used to remove excessive amounts of protein from white wines.
Were it not for this use of bentonite, many or most white wines would precipitate undesirable
flocculent clouds or hazes upon exposure to warmer temperatures, as these proteins denature.
It also has the incidental use of inducing more rapid clarification of both red and white wines.
Bentonite has been prescribed as a bulk laxative, and it is also used as a base for many
dermatologic formulas.[8]
[edit] History and natural occurrence
Bentonite output in 2005. Click the image for the details.
In 2005, U.S. was the top producer of bentonite with almost one-third world share followed
by China and Greece, reports the British Geological Survey.
The absorbent clay was given the name bentonite by Wilbur C. Knight in 1898 after the
Cretaceous Benton Shale near Rock River, Wyoming.[9] Other modern discoveries include
montmorillonite discovered in 1847 in Montmorillon in the Vienne prefecture of France, in
Poitou-Charentes, South of the Loire Valley.
Most high-grade natural sodium bentonite is produced from the western United States in an
area between the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. Mixed
sodium/calcium bentonite is mined in Greece, Australia, India, Russia and the Ukraine. In the
United States, calcium bentonite is primarily mined in Mississippi and Alabama. Other major
locations producing calcium bentonite include Germany, Greece, Turkey, India and China.
It should be noted that in some countries like the UK and US, calcium bentonite is known as
fuller's earth, a term which is also used to refer to attapulgite, a mineralogically distinct clay
mineral but exhibiting similar properties.
[edit] References
1. ^ Theng, B.K.G. 1979. Formation and Properties of Clay Polymer
Complexes. Developments in Soil Science 9. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 362pp
2. ^ Lagaly G., 1995. Surface and interlayer reactions: bentonites as
adsorbents. P 137-144
3. ^ In Churchman, G.J., Fitzpatrick, R.W., Eggleton R.A. Clays Controlling the
Environment. Proceedings of the 10th International Clay Conference,
Adelaide, Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
4. ^ R.H.S, Robertson, 1986. Fuller's Earth. A History of calcium
montmorillonite. Volturna, Press, U.K.
5. ^ Odom, I.E., 1984. Smectite clay minerals: properties and uses.
Philosophical Transactions Royal Society, London, A., 311, 391-409.
6. ^ Guyonnet, D., Gaucher, E., Gaboriau, H., Pons C.-H., Clinard, C., Norotte,
V. Didier, G. 2005. Geosynthetic clay liner interactions with leachate:
correlation between permeability, microstructure and surface chemistry.
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 131, page740-749.
7. ^ Potassium bentonite. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical
Terms. Retrieved June 12, 2008. Answers.com
8. ^ Bentonite from oregonstate.edu website
9. ^ http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/Topics/IndustrialMinerals/bentonite.aspx
Bentonite, Wyoming Geological Survey
[edit] External links
International Chemical Safety Card 0384
[edit] Further reading
Brady, G.S., Clauser, H.R., & Vaccari, J.A. (2002). Materials handbook. (15th
ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hosterman, J.W. and S.H. Patterson. (1992). Bentonite and Fuller's earth
resources of the United States [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper
1522]. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.
Milne, G.W.A. (Ed.). (2005). Gardner's commercially important chemicals:
Synonyms, trade names, and properties. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience.
