Clay is — well — usually pretty boring. A very few of us deal with it in our occupations. I would guess that most of us deal with it when digging around our yards or properties, as you might run into layers of it under sod or in the soil itself.
But clay can be quite interesting, the more you learn about it!
Take bentonite clay for instance. It’s often touted as “the clay of a thousand uses.” It’s used in oil and gas drilling, pond lining, and also has many health benefits(!). This is due to the many interesting features of bentonite clay:
* It can have tremendous swelling power! One story I read about bentonite recommended you keep a bucket of it around in case you cut yourself with a chainsaw, you can throw bentonite on the wound to stop massive bleeding!
* Bentonite clay also has a characteristic of being able to “soak up” toxic chemicals and metals. This is due to “cation exchange” sites throughout all the incredible surface area in the clay
* Bentonite clay can be an excellent filter, and some people actually ingest pure bentonite clays as it’s claimed to be able to help multiple systems such as digestion and also heavy metals out of the body! (I haven’t adopted this practice of eating bentonite as of yet, but I’m considering it!)
So, clay can be deceptive that way. It looks and feels like just another boring thing found in the ground, but it actually can have great economic value!
We have a clay evaluation testing package to help clients determine exactly WHAT their clay is, and HOW to go about using and selling it.
The clay evaluation package includes:
X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) Testing — this test pulverizes the clay into a fine power and bounces x-rays off. Then the x-rays are measured, and they will show different reflection angles for various types of clay
Cation Exchange Capability (CEC) Testing — this test determines the ability for your clay to adsorb positive cations. This test will help determine what possible uses your clay might have in the market
Whole Rock Major Oxide Analysis — this test uses x-ray flourescence (XRF) equipment to determine what major oxides (ie SiO2, AlO3) might be present in your clay. This, couples with a loss on ignition test (around 900 degrees Celsius) can help determine what types of clay you have
Rehydration Testing — different types of clays adsorb moisture at various rates over time. This test takes several days to complete, but is a good analysis for how much moisture your clay sample can take over time. The results can also be compared with other types of clays to find where your clay fits in
Clay Market Matrix — your clay sample’s test results can then be shown alongside industry requirements for various types of clay in the market
If you would like to submit a sample to us for clay evaluation testing, visit us!
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