What is bleaching earth?
What is bleaching earth? This is a question that many people ask. Bleaching earth is also known as fuller’s earth and is clay that is mined in various countries including in Asia, India, USA and the UK. Once you obtain bleaching earth you get a substance that is rich in minerals and it is used for various purposes including for bleaching, absorbing and filtering. If bleaching earth is used for industrial purposes the earth then has to be put through processing which involves recycling. After this recycling, the earth will be ready to be used again and it will also be in a state in which it can safely be disposed of.
Bleaching earth contains montmorilloinite clay and bentonite clay as well as attapulgite clay. These clay types are found individually and also in combination. When bleaching earth is raw it will contain silica and aluminum. In addition, bleaching earth also contains calcium, magnesium and iron. The deposit of clay looks like soil and its color can be buff, tan and yellow as well as pure white. This substance is very absorbent and in addition it is smooth and has a greasy feel.
Bleaching earth can be used in its normal state but it is also put through washing as well as heating. This is done in order to reduce the moisture in the bleaching earth and to remove microorganisms. Once the washing and heating is over the earth will then be dried and then sent to treatment plants where it will be pulverized to obtain the finished product which contains small particles.
Activated bleaching earth can be mixed with hydrochloric and sulfuric as well as some other acid. The clay that is obtained from such mixture will then be washed and dried as well as ground. The finished product will be sold in various grades and the amount of moisture in the bleaching earth will vary as too will the size of the particles. The bleaching earth can contain moisture which can be between six and twelve percent and the size of particles can be between 25 microns to much larger pieces.
Bleaching clay absorbs some odors that are very unpleasant and include odors of ammonia and tars as well as sulfurs. Bleaching earth has strong absorbent properties and this allows it to retain some of the chemicals and oils when used as filler. These substances are quite flammable and they have harmful characteristics as well.
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