Pesticides. Jet fuel. Olive oil. Railroad traction gel. Skin cream. Kitty litter. As you can imagine, markets like these don’t intersect very often. However, they do share one thing in common: they are all applications for attapulgite, a naturally occurring mineral used mainly as a filter, carrier and rheology modifier.
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Thanks to its unique properties, the mineral has found applications in a wide range of industries, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals and automotive and beyond.
What exactly makes attapulgite so unique and versatile?
“The material is extremely stable in liquid formulations,” says Lance Richert, Sales and New Business Development Manager of Attapulgite Products at BASF. “Attapulgite provides significant rheology stability and adsorbent properties compared to market alternatives.”
With its three-dimensional chain structure, attapulgite has one-of-a-kind colloidal, absorbent and adsorbent properties. When fully hydrated, it thickens liquids without swelling. High thermal activation gives it the large surface area and porosity it needs for optimal sorptivity.
“It has significant absorbent properties,” Richert explains. “The attapulgite can absorb a lot of liquid with impurities and things of that nature, which makes it really good for filtering. It’s also good in agricultural applications where active ingredients need to be absorbed into the granular product and released slowly.”
To take advantage of those unique attributes, you need connections to one of the limited sources of attapulgite production in North America.
In the United States, attapulgite can only be mined in southwestern Georgia and northern Florida. The mineral takes its name from the town of Attapulgus, GA, where it can be found in abundance.
BASF operates its attapulgite mines in this area, with the manufacturing facility located approximately 17 miles south of Attapulgus in Quincy, FL. The company’s attapulgite clay mining operations cover more than 16,000 acres of land in Florida and Georgia.
Quincy is the home base of BASF’s primary attapulgite operations. When the company acquired the mine in , it also adopted more than a century of history: the site was first owned by Floridin Company in , before it exchanged hands five times during the next few decades.
With 80 employees, today the site mines and processes attapulgite clay within two production lines: granular and gel. Processing, in a nutshell, involves drying, sizing and packaging the product for shipment.
BASF categorizes their product line in two segments: a gel attapulgite and a granular attapulgite. The first takes the form of a very fine powder while the other, as the name suggests, has a more granular or coarse consistency. The products are called Attagel® and Micro-Sorb®, respectively.
“Attapulgite provides significant rheology stability and adsorbent properties compared to market alternatives.”
Attagel works in multiple applications like automotive paint, interior paint, pharmaceutical, liquid fertilzer, traction gel for railroads and moisture control for windows, just to name a few. Similarly, its granular counterpart Micro-Sorb has been used in oil filtration, edible oils, jet fuel oils, herbicides — and, yes, kitty litter.
Richert adds that as an established chemical company, BASF is well-positioned to help customers respond to issues — from innovation to environmental regulations to everything in between.
For instance, he says, “If there’s a logistics or supply chain issue or a phenomenon that’s happening in the marketplace, we generally have the best leverage and the best teams to navigate our customers through the risks and opportunities.”
BASF’s operations obtain attapulgite clay by strip mining. When looking for a specific grade of attapulgite, the site’s team of mining experts must determine the most likely locations. The mineral is typically found near the surface, so excavation begins by removing the soil and rock on top.
Once they do, it’s a relatively straightforward matter of strip mining the material with excavators and other large machinery.
Once the attapulgite has been unearthed, there is one more important step remaining in the mining process: land reclamation.
“With land reclamation, we either improve upon the land we have strip mined or we will get it back to its original state as much as possible,” says Richert.
BASF aims to offset the environmental impacts of strip mining — which can include damage to landscapes, disruption of wildlife habitats and pollution of waterways — and make other environmental improvements whenever possible. The company engages in activities like water management, for example, as well as building small ponds, planting and relocating trees, and doing whatever is needed to improve the land's long-term sustainability.
“Each clay has its unique properties, which make it suitable for specific industrial applications—from attapulgite’s stability to bentonite’s impressive swelling capacity.”
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering about the differences between attapulgite, bentonite, and montmorillonite, you’re not alone. These clays are widely used but serve very different purposes. In this blog, we’ll explore what makes each clay unique and help you decide which one suits your specific needs. By comparing attapulgite, bentonite, and montmorillonite, you’ll gain a better understanding of their specific applications and find out which clay is right for you.
To make an informed choice, it’s essential to understand what attapulgite, bentonite, and montmorillonite actually are. Each of these clays has a unique structure and chemical composition that defines its uses in various industries.
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Attapulgite is a hydrated magnesium aluminum silicate with a fibrous structure, making it unique among industrial clay types. This clay is particularly well-suited for use as an adsorbent, in pharmaceuticals, and in suspensions due to its colloidal properties. Bentonite, on the other hand, is primarily composed of montmorillonite, a smectite clay mineral that is known for its ability to swell significantly in water. This property makes bentonite ideal for creating sealing barriers and as a binder in industrial applications. Montmorillonite itself is a type of smectite clay that plays a central role in both bentonite and other industrial clay products, prized for its cation exchange capacity and usefulness in soil treatment and adsorption.
Attapulgite is a hydrated magnesium aluminum silicate known for its fibrous structure. This unique structure gives it impressive adsorption capabilities, making it an ideal material for a range of industries. Unlike other clays, attapulgite has excellent colloidal stability, meaning it can form a stable suspension in a liquid medium, which is crucial for applications in paints, pharmaceuticals, and drilling fluids.
Attapulgite’s properties make it incredibly versatile. It doesn’t swell significantly when in contact with water, which makes it useful in scenarios where stability under wet conditions is needed. It also has notable thermal stability, which allows it to be used in high-temperature processes without degradation. This makes attapulgite valuable for use as a suspending agent in paints and coatings, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry where it serves as an antidiarrheal agent due to its high absorption properties.
Bentonite, primarily composed of montmorillonite, is best known for its swelling ability, which distinguishes it from other clays. Bentonite’s layered structure allows it to expand when in contact with water, making it highly effective in creating impermeable seals. This swelling property is what makes bentonite the clay of choice for drilling muds, where it helps stabilize boreholes and prevent the ingress of unwanted fluids.
Another significant property of bentonite is its plasticity, which means it can be easily molded and shaped when wet. This makes bentonite an excellent binder for foundry sands used in metal casting. Additionally, bentonite is used in sealants for landfills and ponds due to its capacity to create a watertight barrier. There are two main types of bentonite: sodium bentonite, which has high swelling capacity, and calcium bentonite, which is less expansive but still very useful as an adsorbent.
Montmorillonite is a specific type of smectite clay, often found as the primary component of bentonite. Its layered structure, composed of silica and alumina sheets, gives it excellent ion exchange capabilities, making it highly effective for applications such as soil conditioning and environmental cleanup. The ability to exchange cations like calcium and sodium with its environment is crucial for maintaining soil fertility and water retention in agricultural contexts.
Montmorillonite is also notable for its high adsorption capabilities, particularly for heavy metals and organic compounds. This makes it a valuable component in environmental applications where toxins need to be removed from water or soil. In cosmetics, montmorillonite is used for its ability to cleanse and detoxify the skin, making it a popular ingredient in face masks and other skincare products.
Understanding the core differences between these clays can be challenging, but this section will break down the distinctions in terms of chemical composition, physical properties, and common uses. Attapulgite is characterized by its fibrous structure, which makes it suitable for colloidal suspension, whereas bentonite’s main feature is its high swelling capacity, which is useful for sealing and binding. Montmorillonite, often found in bentonite, stands out due to its ion exchange capacity, which is highly beneficial in agriculture and environmental remediation.
The differences between attapulgite, bentonite, and montmorillonite also influence their industrial applications. Attapulgite’s thermal stability and fibrous structure make it ideal for pharmaceutical and industrial absorbent applications. Bentonite’s ability to swell and form a gel-like barrier makes it the preferred choice for drilling fluids and sealing purposes. Montmorillonite’s high cation exchange capacity makes it suitable for adsorption of heavy metals and other environmental uses.
For attapulgite, I think its thermal stability is often overlooked. Many industries underestimate its ability to maintain structural integrity under high temperatures, making it highly valuable in paint formulations and heat-intensive drilling operations. Bentonite’s plasticity is also frequently underrated; it’s not just about swelling, but about its versatility as a binder that makes it indispensable in casting and foundry applications. Montmorillonite’s ion exchange capacity is often seen as a niche feature, but it has profound applications in improving soil health and ensuring more sustainable agricultural practices. Each of these “hidden” features could open doors to more innovative industrial applications if better understood.
Selecting the right clay depends on your specific requirements. Attapulgite, with its stable fibrous structure, is excellent for uses that require a colloidal suspension or high absorption without significant swelling. It is particularly effective in pharmaceuticals and as a suspending agent in coatings. If your need is to create an impermeable seal, bentonite’s swelling properties make it the ideal choice. Its ability to absorb water and swell allows it to create a barrier, which is perfect for sealing ponds, landfills, and as a drilling fluid additive.
Montmorillonite, with its high cation exchange capacity, is ideal for applications that require adsorption and ion exchange. If you’re dealing with environmental cleanup or need a material that can help improve soil fertility, montmorillonite offers the best solution. Each of these clays has unique properties that make it suitable for a variety of industrial applications, and choosing the right one requires understanding both the material’s capabilities and the specific needs of your project.
A common misconception is that all clays can be used interchangeably, particularly bentonite and montmorillonite. Many people think bentonite’s swelling ability makes it suitable for all purposes that involve sealing or adsorption. However, bentonite is ideal for creating physical barriers, while montmorillonite’s strength lies in its ability to retain and exchange cations, which is crucial for nutrient delivery in agriculture and heavy metal adsorption. Understanding these distinctions has helped me guide industries toward more appropriate, cost-effective solutions.
I’ve worked extensively with each of these clays in various industries, and I’ll share some practical anecdotes that might help you understand their applications better. For example, I once worked with a company that manufactured cat litter using bentonite. The high swelling properties of sodium bentonite made it incredibly effective for this application, as it could absorb large amounts of moisture, keeping the litter box dry and odor-free.
On another occasion, I consulted with an agricultural company that used montmorillonite to improve soil quality. The clay’s high cation exchange capacity made a significant difference in the soil’s ability to retain nutrients, which ultimately led to improved crop yields. These real-world examples illustrate just how versatile these clays can be, depending on the specific needs of the industry.
I once worked with a water treatment project that relied on montmorillonite’s ion exchange capacity to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil. Initially, the team considered using bentonite, but its primary strength lies in creating barriers rather than adsorbing contaminants effectively. When we switched to montmorillonite, the project saw a dramatic improvement in the removal efficiency of harmful metals, which ultimately led to a successful rehabilitation of the contaminated site. This experience underscored the importance of selecting a clay based on its specific strengths.
“I’ve seen firsthand how the swelling ability of sodium bentonite made it the perfect solution for cat litter, keeping homes odor-free and dry.”
In the end, each clay has its own strengths. Attapulgite, bentonite, and montmorillonite each offer unique properties that make them suitable for specific industrial uses. Attapulgite is best for applications that require thermal stability and colloidal properties, bentonite is the go-to clay for sealing and adsorption, and montmorillonite shines in ion exchange and soil conditioning. Hopefully, this guide helps you choose the one that meets your needs best.
If you’re looking to explore the right clay for your needs, check out our Activated Clay offerings for more information on effective solutions.
For a detailed comparison of activated clay types, including a focus on moisture control, check out our Activated Clay vs Bentonite Clay for Moisture Control and Sealing Applications.
To purchase Activated Clay – Desiccant made from clay – Sold in 25kg bags, click here.
For further research, see this external study: Evaluation of Bentonite, attapulgite, and kaolinite as eco-friendly adsorbents.
This post is intended for informational purposes only. Always consult with an expert to determine the most suitable clay for your specific applications.
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