What are the processing methods of bentonite?

Bentonite is a hydrated clay rock with montmorillonite as the main component. It has excellent swelling, adsorption, cation exchange, catalytic, adhesion, suspension, plasticity and other special properties, and is known as "universal clay". It can be used as mud, adhesive, cat litter, antidiarrheal agent, beverage clarifier, sauce clarifier, toothpaste additive, etc. It is widely used in daily life. Pure bentonite is rare and often contains various impurities. Mineral processing is needed to meet growing domestic and industrial needs. Bentonite processing methods mainly include dry beneficiation and wet beneficiation.

The main mineral component is montmorillonite, with a content of 85-90%. Some properties of bentonite are also determined by montmorillonite. Montmorillonite comes in many colors such as yellow-green, yellow-white, gray, and white. It can be a dense mass or loose soil. It feels slippery when rubbed with fingers. After adding water, the volume of the small pieces expands several times to 20-30 times, and is suspended in the water. When there is less water, it becomes mushy.

Bentonite processing plant

Bentonite processing technology is usually divided into screening, crushing, grinding, packaging, etc.

1. Screening: Screen the bentonite raw materials mined in bentonite mines to remove impurities and obtain bentonite raw materials;

2. Drying:

a. Dry method - The process of preparing bentonite by dry method is natural drying. Generally, bentonite ore is spread on the drying field, and then exposed to direct sunlight in summer, and it can be completely dried in about 1 day.

b. Wet method - bentonite has a high moisture content and needs to be dried with a dryer to reduce the moisture content.

3. Crushing: The large pieces of bentonite are crushed by the crusher to a fineness that can enter the mill.

4. Grinding: The crushed small pieces of bentonite are sent to the silo by the elevator, and then sent to the ball mill (Raymond mill) evenly and quantitatively by the vibrating feeder for grinding.

5. Finished products: Qualified bentonite powder can be sent to the market for sale after being uniformly packaged.