Bentonite plant production has increased 40 percent since 2000 in Wyoming, where the majority of bentonite is mined. State severance tax revenues from bentonite mining have nearly doubled in that period.
A part of that success can be attributed to the energy boom; bentonite is used in drilling oil and gas wells, and exploration and production of coal-bed methane, a type of natural gas, is booming.
It's used to clarify wines and juices, and could even help protect us one day from viruses such as bird flu, according Don Eisenhour, global minerals director for AMCOL International Corp., a worldwide minerals corporation that sells and markets bentonite.
“Bentonite has several major markets and every one of them is doing extremely well right now,” said Larry Madsen, vice president and chief financial officer for Black Hills Bentonite, which is headquartered in Casper.
Bentonite was created millions of years ago when shallow sea water reacted with volcanic ash. American Indians used bentonite in soap and decorative paints. Early settlers of Wyoming and South Dakota first got their wagon wheels stuck in sticky bentonite mud, then learned how to use it to grease creaky wheel axles and chink log homes.
Bentonite reserves in the area are estimated at around
1 billion tons, Eisenhour said.
“We're not in danger of running out any time soon,” he said. “Wyoming bentonite is absolutely unique in the world. China and India are mining minerals and exporting them cheaply. But we're still exporting Wyoming bentonite around the world because it's so much better quality.”
Teresa Schanzenbach, who directs both the chamber of commerce and the economic development center in Belle Fourche, S.D., said side industries - such as trucking businesses that transport bentonite and a company that makes jugs for cat litter - have popped up around town.
“Bentonite is huge here,” said David Schneider, the mayor-elect of Belle Fourche, which is about 10 miles east of the Wyoming state line. “We're thankful to have the industry here, that's for sure.”
Belle Fourche has grown steadily over the past few years, Schanzenbach said, and a big reason is the stability that bentonite companies in the area provide workers.
“People start there at 19 and they stay because they love the company,” Schanzenbach said.
Alfred Williams is manager of a bentonite plant in Belle Fourche owned by American Colloid Co., a subsidiary of AMCOL International. When Williams started in the business 32 years ago, there were two main markets for bentonite: Bentonite is mixed with sand to form the molds used in the metal casting industry, and oil- and gas well-diggers use a bentonite “drilling mud” to lubricate their drills.
The bentonite industry hit hard times in the 1980s when oil drilling hit a low point, Williams said, and American Colloid decided it needed to diversify. It started actively developing other products such as clumping cat litter and cosmetics.
“There's been so many changes,” Williams said. “The decision to diversify opened up so many new markets.”
The company built a plant dedicated to producing clumping cat litter in Colony, Wyo., in 2000 because of increased demand. Now, the plant produces around 10,000 tons a month of packaged litter, said Brian Frankey, the plant's quality control coordinator.
Jon Kellar, chairman of the materials and metallurgical engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, said companies have been looking into different uses for bentonite since Toyota first mixed it with a polymer to make an engine component for its 1993 Camry.
“That really kicked things off,” Kellar said.
The polymer was lighter and had a better resistance to high temperatures, Kellar said. After the Toyota success, industry started looking into what bentonite could do for other products. It was used in truck bed liners and added to tennis balls to help them keep their bounce longer, Kellar said.
Shawn Decker, director of the Center for Accelerated Applications at the Nanoscale located on the School of Mines campus, said his center is looking to develop more high-value uses for bentonite and other similar clays at the nano scale.
What makes Wyoming bentonite so useful is its ability to swell up to 16 times its original size, and absorb up to 10 times its own weight in water, said Matt Grant, assistant director of the Wyoming Mining Association.
Another characteristic that makes it unusual is its small particle size, said Cliff Johnston, professor of soil chemistry and mineralogy at Purdue University.
Bentonite's unique properties are leading to a lot of experimentation by scientists, who are looking for ways to use it and similar clays in innovative products, Johnston said.
AMCOL, for example, is looking into using bentonite to produce plastic beer bottles. Current plastic bottles allow too much carbonation to escape, and the beer loses its fizz. But plastic mixed with bentonite keeps that from happening, Eisenhour said.
“Bentonite has more uses than any mineral I can think of. It's so diverse,” he said. “A lot of it is behind the scene uses that people don't even think about.”
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Hoppmann wrote on Jun 18, 2009 11:04 PM:
I am searching for an engineering company who has the experience for an EPC, starting with a FEED study, of a "cat litter" production. Raw Material is Bentonit. Capacity 80.000 tons/year. Green field - plant.
Every reply is appreciated.
Regards
WA "