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   Refining of Edible Oils & Re-refining of Mineral Oils     Raw Material and its Source     Structure of Montmorillonite    Quality Assurance
Our Brand GOODEARTH and its types    Prepartion & Activation of Crude Bentonitre      Advantages of Using Goodearth      Contact Us

 
Preparation and Activation of Crude Bentonite 

The processing of the raw clay begins with its preparation i.e., the Bentonite is purified by separating and removing the accompanying natural minerals viz silica, Quartz, Mica, Feldspar etc.

ACTIVATION: The prepared Bentonite, as a fine suspension, is then subjected to the effect of mineral acid. The outer calcium ions are replaced by H+- ions at the first stage of acid activation.

A so called H-Bentonite is formed. In the course of further activation the individual layers are directly attacked by mineral acid and various ions, such as Aluminium, iron calcium and magnesium ions are removed from the lattice. The acid can now penetrate deeper and deeper from the surface of the crystal into the crystal structure of the individual layer, which result in  an increased surface area of these crystal platelets and the formation of active acid sites. At this stage, optimal acid activation is achieved. Further chemical treatment would again reduce the activity and cause complete dissolution of the crystal as well as the generation of silicic acid.

At this point, the acid activated clay has the best bleaching properties. It is obvious to capture this moment

Complete mastery over clay processing technology and experience are necessary to produce Bleaching Earths in the market with consistently high bleachibility bear evidence to the fact that we have made good mastery over the activation process. 

The activation process imparts the following properties to the crude raw material.

 
1 The outer metal ions are replaced by H+ - ions which result in a high exchange capacity and special catalytic properties.
2 A great number of acid sites are formed in the crystal of Montmorillonite.
3 The surface area is increased to be many times than that of the crude material. Depending on the type of Bleaching Earth it can go up to 300m2/g compared to the approximately 40m2/g in the case of crude clays. This enhances its adsorption capacity many folds.
 

Further Processing and Production of Activated Bleaching Earth 
After activation, the acid suspension is passed on to the filter presses, where the acid is separated and the resulting filter cake, which is future Bleaching Earth is washed free of excess acid and dissolved salts.

Rigid control assures us of an end product with less than 0.1% acid content. After washing process the filter cake is dried very carefully in rotary driers operating in combination with cyclones and grinding equipment. Adjustable classifiers guarantee the the desired particle size distribution.


 

 

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