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Bentonite Mines

Kason Products Increasing Customer Satisfaction for Bentonite Mines

Commercial clays—those utilized as raw material in manufacturing—are among the most important of nonmetallic resources. Chief among these indispensable clays is Bentonite, which is used in a broad range of industries and applications. Today, many Bentonite mines rely on Kason equipment to meet required specifications for purity and particle size.

Bentonite is used in the petroleum industry as an ingredient in drilling muds, where it imparts a high viscosity and shear strength to the mud itself. It is also used as a catalyst in that industry for a variety of reactive processes. Foundries use bentonite to bind sand into desired shapes because it gives the molds a higher green, dry and hot strength. A host of other industries use bentonite as an adsorbent in many processes.
 
Like most commercial clays, bentonite is mined by the open-pit method, with foreign matter to clay ratios ranging as high as 10 to 1. Once the excess material is removed, the clay is ready for processing by crushing, drying and pulverizing. The first crush creates egg-sized particles, which are then dried in rotary driers. Once dried, the screen processing begins. These particles are pulverized to a specified mesh size (such as 90% retained on a 200-mesh screen with the largest particle passing a 30-mesh screen). In other cases, the material may have to be pulverized to 99.9 percent finer than 325-mesh.

Whatever the requirement, Kason vibratory screens are up to the challenge. Their rugged design makes them suitable for service in bentonite mines around the world.

After pulverization, the screened product may be stored in silos prior to bulk or bag shipment. When ready for shipment, Kason Flo-Thru low-profile sifters are frequently specified for the scalping needed to eliminate any oversized clumps or agglomerates that may have occurred during storage of the material.

Screen Tips - Volume 12, Number 2 Fall 1997

 

 

Kason Products Increasing Customer Satisfaction for Bentonite Mines

'Flo-Thru' VIBROSCREEN sifters are used to scalp oversize clumps of bentonite prior to bulk or bag shipments. Their low profile makes them ideal for low headroom situations.