You must have heard of bentonite clay and its use as a main ingredient in beauty products to purify your skin.
Well, apart from manufacturing, the uses of bentonite clay extend to other industries like agriculture and infrastructure.
Its unique properties, such as great absorption, swelling, and binding, make it valuable to all industries.
Your business might also belong to any of these industries, and if you aren’t using bentonite clay, then we highly recommend that you start using it.
Why? Because it can benefit your business in several ways.
In this blog, we’ll explore bentonite clay benefits, how different industries use it, and how to use bentonite clay effectively in your operations.
Top 6 Benefits Of Bentonite Clay And Its Uses: Table of Contents
- What Is Bentonite Clay?
- What are the Benefits and Uses of Bentonite clay?
- Start Using Bentonite Clay Today
- Top 6 Benefits Of Bentonite Clay And Its Uses: FAQs
What Is Bentonite Clay?
Bentonite clay is a natural mineral that takes millions of years to form. These are some of the key features of bentonite clay:
- Formation: It is formed through the gradual weathering of volcanic ash
- Odour: It is completely odorless
- Appearance: Its appearance can be gray, cream, or off-white
- Texture: Sandy and particulate
- Properties: Bentonite clay properties are its USP, making it capable of absorbing, swelling, and binding different substances
- Composition: Its clay composition includes montmorillonite, which can soak significant amounts of water
What are the Types of Bentonite clay?
There are mainly two categories of Bentonite clays used for industrial purposes. If one can seal, then the other can clean. You can use either or both, according to your project requirements.
Sodium Bentonite
Its characteristics are like a sponge when added to water.
When Sodium Bentonite is added to water, it absorbs it and expands several times its dry mass.
Best for: Its colloidal nature makes it useful anywhere water needs to be controlled or sealed. Thus, making sodium bentonite best for:
- Drilling mud and boreholes
- Sealing ponds
- Creating waterproof barriers at construction sites
Calcium Bentonite
Its characteristics are more like those of a magnet.
Calcium Bentonite is known for its strong ability to absorb and hold onto toxins or impurities in one place.
Best for: Because of its detoxifying properties, you’ll find calcium bentonite in:
- Beauty products
- Health supplements
- Animal feed
What are the Benefits and Uses of Bentonite clay?
Bentonite clay benefits businesses in different ways.
We are saying this based on our client feedback.
As a bentonite clay manufacturer for years, our clients have shared the benefits they have gained from using bentonite clay. And now, we’ll share those benefits with you.
This way, you’ll know how to use bentonite clay to benefit your business.
Benefit 1: High Absorption And Swelling Capacity
One of the biggest benefits of bentonite clay is its ability to absorb water and swell up several times its original dry volume.
That’s how sodium bentonite works.
Due to this ability, it develops a tight, gel-like barrier that effectively blocks the movement of water and other fluids.
So, if your manufacturing or constructing process requires sealing and stabilization, this swelling capacity and moisture retention can be very beneficial.
Key Applications
- Oil and gas industry: It is an important component in drilling muds. Basically, it cools and lubricates the drilling tools and stabilizes boreholes.
- Water containment projects: When mixed with water, a gel-like substance forms, which prevents liquids from leaking into the soil or groundwater. Thus, it seals ponds, canals, and wastewater treatment facilities.
Bentonite also serves as a natural glue, which we will discuss next.
Benefit 2: Excellent Binding Properties
Bentonite Clay is a great binding agent. Essentially, it enables tiny particles to adhere to one another without the addition of chemicals.
It happens because bentonite holds moisture well and has a large surface area, allowing it to naturally bind things.
Key Applications
- Steel industry: Bentonite is combined with iron ore to help form strong, uniform pellets that hold their shape during transport and burn efficiently in furnaces.
- Iron Ore Pelletisation: It is used to reduce silica in the final product, resulting in better outcomes with reduced clay usage.
- Animal Feed: Added in animal feed to hold different ingredients together, so the feed doesn’t separate during packaging and storage.
- Foundry, ceramics, and fertilizer: It keeps powders from becoming dusty and improves product consistency.
Benefit 3: Environmental Applications & Waste Management
Bentonite clay is even beneficial for the environment.
That’s because it keeps all the toxins locked in place when it swells and creates a tight layer.
Thus, it can prevent heavy metals or organic wastes from leaking into the ground or water.
Key Applications
- Landfill and Waste Containment: Bentonite clay is used as a liner to prevent harmful waste from leaking into the ground at landfill sites. It is also used to build slurry walls that contain waste or pollutants.
- Soil Clean-Up: Bentonite clay can clear soil contamination by binding all the harmful substances in place and preventing them from spreading.
- Industrial Wastewater Treatment: It absorbs and removes contaminants from industrial wastewater.
Benefit 4: Beauty and Healthcare
The beauty and healthcare industries use bentonite for its detoxifying properties and mineral content.
Basically, bentonite has a negative charge, whereas impurities have a positive charge. This opposite charge helps attract impurities from your body.
Bentonite also contains natural minerals like:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Iron
They can remove toxins, bacteria, and heavy metals from the skin and body.
Key Applications
- Skincare: Majorly used in manufacturing facial masks for acne treatment products.
- Haircare: Also used in manufacturing hair masks that cleanse the scalp by removing excess oil and impurities.
- Digestive Health: Added in medical food to detoxify the digestive system. It is used to cure symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal issues.
Benefit 5: Agriculture and Soil Health
You can start growing healthy crops, but for that, you need to improve the soil quality.
Bentonite clay can do it for you.
Its water-holding capacity loosens the compacted soil and retains moisture for longer periods.
Plus, its strong cation exchange capacity (CEC) allows it to hold and gradually release nutrients in the soil. Thus, there will be no nutrient loss in the soil.
Key applications
- Fertilizers: Bentonite binds nutrients evenly in granulated fertilizers and ensures a slow, consistent release of nutrients on the crops or soil surface.
- Pesticides: Bentonite is also added to pesticide formulations to improve their ability to stick to plant surfaces and spread evenly during spraying.
Benefit 6: Industrial Filler and Additive
If you need filler or an additive for your product line, then you should definitely get bentonite clay.
It is cheap and works well as a filler or additive.
Furthermore, the gel-like substance it forms when mixed with water helps you maintain the product’s thickness and consistency.
Key Applications
- Paints, coatings & adhesives: Used as a filler to improve consistency, reduce cracking, and support low-VOC formulations.
- Cement and concrete mixes: Enhances rheology and water retention for improved mixture output and smoother application.
- Paper production: It dewaters the paper pulp to maintain structure and bring better output.
Start Using Bentonite Clay Today
To sum it up, Bentonite Clay is a problem solver across several industries.
The unique bentonite clay properties come to the benefit of businesses across all the industries we mentioned.
And if you want to eliminate the problems you are facing with your product line or processes, you should get bentonite clay from a reliable manufacturer.
At The Sharad Group, we manufacture and supply high-quality Bentonite, which is backed by:
- 64 years of expertise
- State-of-the-art mineral processing technologies
- 300+ million tons of reserves
We understand the unique needs of different industries and can help you choose the right grade and application for your business goals.
Reach out to us now!
Top 6 Benefits Of Bentonite Clay And Its Uses: FAQs
1. What is bentonite clay used for?
Bentonite clay is commonly used in various applications, such as:
- Beauty and healthcare
- Civil construction
- Foundries
- Wastewater treatment
- Agriculture
2. What are the medical uses of bentonite?
In terms of Medical usage, if you use food-grade bentonite clay, then it can help in:
- Detoxify the body
- Cure skin issues
- Improve digestion
3. What is bentonite most used for?
Bentonite is most commonly used in:
- Drilling mud in the oil and gas industries
- As sealants and liners in construction sites
- Beauty products as a detoxifying agent
- As a filler and additive in paints and the chemical industries
