https://smiala.com/en/material/bentonite/ Recent content in Bentonite on Big-Bag to Silo Trailer Transloading — SMIALA Poland Hugo en Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://smiala.com/en/wiedza/materialy/materialy-mineralne/bentonit/ Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://smiala.com/en/wiedza/materialy/materialy-mineralne/bentonit/ <h2 id="definicja">Definition</h2> <p><strong>Bentonite</strong> is a fine-grained clay rock whose main component — and the one that determines its properties — is <strong>montmorillonite</strong>, a smectite-group mineral capable of swelling on contact with water and forming thixotropic suspensions. It is formed from the alteration (illitisation and smectitisation) of volcanic ash and tuffs, which is why bentonite deposits are geologically linked to past volcanic activity.</p> <p>Bentonite is one of those mineral materials that travel in big-bags, in bulk in silo trailers and in 25 kg bags alike. From a logistics standpoint it is both rewarding and troublesome: chemically inert, non-flammable and non-toxic, yet at the same time dusty and extremely sensitive to moisture. A brief contact with water is enough for it to start swelling and caking — and then a free-flowing powder turns into a sticky mass that can no longer be transferred by gravity.</p>