Bentonite Applications

Drilling Mud (Oil & Gas)

Sodium based Bentonite has excellent colloidal properties and it is often used in drilling mud for oil and gas wells and boreholes for geotechnical and environmental investigations.

• Provides viscosity and gel strength to the mud system
• Carries drill cuttings from the bit to the surface
• Forms a filter cake to prevent fluid loss into the formation
• Cools and lubricates the drill string
• Used in both water-based and geotechnical drilling

Sealing & Waterproofing

The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier. Applications include:

• Pond and landfill liner systems
• Environmental containment barriers
• Underground waterproofing
• Geosynthetic clay liners (GCL)
• Cut-off walls and slurry trenches

Foundry & Castings

Sodium bentonite is mostly used for large castings that use dry moulds, while calcium bentonite is more commonly used for smaller castings that use 'green' or wet moulds.

As a bonding clay in moulding sands, bentonite provides the green strength and dry strength needed to form and hold the shape of complex casting moulds at elevated temperatures.

Iron Ore Pelletising (Steelmaking)

Bentonite is used as a binding agent in the manufacture of iron ore (taconite) pellets as used in the steelmaking industry. It acts as a binder to agglomerate fine iron ore particles into pellets that can be fed into blast furnaces.

• Provides mechanical strength to green pellets
• Improves pellet handling and transport
• Burns off cleanly at furnace temperatures
• Compatible with direct reduction iron (DRI) processes