An absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate with high swelling value and instant gelling — suitable for drilling, foundry, sealing, and steelmaking applications.
Sodium Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate. Sodium Bentonite expands when wet — it can absorb several times its dry weight in water. It is essentially an impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite.
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. The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier.
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. Bentonite is also used as a binding agent in the manufacture of iron ore (taconite) pellets as used in the steelmaking industry.
Standard properties for Rawchem Sodium Bentonite. Full datasheets available on request.
| Property | Unit | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Free Swelling Value (2 g/100 mL) | mL | 32 min |
| Gelling Time (10% suspension) | sec | Instant (<60) |
| Methylene Blue Requirement | mg/g | 370 min |
| Product Fineness (passing 200 mesh) | % | 85 min |
| Moisture Content | % | 14 max |
| pH Value (5% suspension) | — | 8 – 10 |
| Green Compression Strength (10:4) | g/cm² | 1000 min |
| Wet Tensile Strength (10:4) | g/cm² | 25 min |
Drilling mud, sealing, foundry castings, iron ore pelletising and geotechnical investigations.
Tell us your required quantity, application, and destination. We'll respond within 1 business day.
Fill in the details below and we'll get back to you promptly.