Bentonite
Bentonite – a special mineral clay
Nature gives us many valuable raw materials, including bentonite, a special mineral clay. At 50 to 80 percent, the most important component of bentonite is the clay mineral montmorillonite. This is a three-layered clay mineral that has a high storage capacity. Another typical feature of bentonite is its strong binding power, which results in a detoxifying effect. This is why the raw material is frequently used in agriculture and horticulture in particular, but also in cosmetics and as a food additive.
What is Bentonite?
Bentonite is a rock powder or a mineral clay. The name comes from the place where the healing earth was first discovered: Fort Benton, a small town in the USA. There are now many bentonite sites in other countries too. If you would like to buy the mineral clay bentonite, which is created by the weathering of volcanic ash, you have come to the right place at Theodor Stephan KG. We would be happy to advise you on our bentonite products.
What types of bentonite are there?
A basic distinction is made between calcium bentonite and sodium bentonite. Calcium bentonites are the most common in the world. They have high swelling as well as high thermal resistance and a high liquid limit. Sodium bentonite is available in natural form as well as in a form activated with soda: By adding a soluble sodium salt (soda) to calcium bentonite, it can be transformed into sodium bentonite. Calcium bentonites differ from sodium bentonites in that they often have significantly lower swelling and liquid limits.
What areas of application are there for bentonite?
Anyone who uses bentonite does so primarily because of its strong swelling properties and its enormous surface area. In the garden area, bentonite is expected to improve plant growth. This is made possible because the mineral stores water as well as nutrients. If necessary, the plants can use both. Bentonite particles are negatively charged while nutrients are positively charged. That's why they can hold on to the clay particles well. As soon as the plant needs nutrients, it releases positively charged hydrogen ions into the mineral and receives the nutrient in exchange. The special mineral is used in viticulture, fruit and grain cultivation, natural gardens, organic and eco-friendly gardens, horticulture and pond construction.
Bentonite is also ideal as a building material for applications in civil engineering. Bentonite is used here, for example, as an adjusting agent for liquids, as a component of support fluids in civil engineering, for the production of liquid soil, as annular gap lubrication in drilling or as backfilling of boreholes and for sealing annular spaces.
We offer you the following products:
Natural calcium bentonite B316