Kansas Bentonite: Its Properties and Utilization

Abstract

Extensive deposits of bentonite of various types exist in Kansas. Uses for this product are steadily expanding. It is now employed as a bleaching agent for oil, as a bond in foundry sand, as a thickener for drilling mud in oil fields, as a bonding material in ceramics and refractories, as a filler for paper, in soap and cosmetics because of its fineness and freedom from grit, for de-inking newsprint because of its absorptive properties, and for many other purposes. Laboratory tests indicate that bentonite is especially valuable in bleaching oil and in acting as a bonding agent in foundry sand. This report covers the use of Kansas bentonite in the more important applications only.

Kansas should well be able to compete in the relatively new and growing bentonite industry because of the favorable mining and shipping conditions in the state, together with the fact that Kansas is nearer to eastern markets than certain other western producing states.