Activation 41

moisture content is reduced to 6 to 10 per cent. The dryers operate

at 150° to 600°C, depending on the grade being produced.
For the preparation of extruded grades, the clay from primary
crushers goes to roller crushers where it is further disintegrated to
about | inch size. The granules are pugged with sufficient water to
make a plastic mass which is subsequently extruded through screw-
type extruders with multiple orifice die plates. Extrusion reduces the
density and breaks up laminations. In attapulgite more needles are
exposed by breakdown of individual bundles of crystals within the
clay. The dryer-product is cooled in tanks, ventilated to carry off
heat and moisture. From there it is routed to roller mills and to
vibrating double-deck screens. The oversize is recycled to another
set of rolls for further reduction in size, and moved to screens. The
crushing-sifting sequence is repeated several times as required to

Oversize

Secondary rollei
crusher
C=JJ?
| Rotary dryer
Vibrating
screens * Product,
OMicro-pulverizer

Water Fines granular'

Clay cooling to grades
packaging to
Pug mill Extruder packaging,
Fine powder
to packaging

FIG. 5.5. Flowsheet for the manufacture of fuller's earth.

obtain products ranging from 4/8 mesh to 60/90 mesh. The most used
of the granular products are 15/30, 30/60 and 60/90 mesh. For fine
grades, the roller-mill product is pulverized in a Raymond mill or in
a fluid-energy grinding mill called a Jet-O-Mizer.

Acid-activated clays
The manufacture of activated clays by partial leaching with
mineral acids appears to be a very simple process. In practice, it
requires an extreme degree of control of process variables in order
to obtain a product of the requisite bleaching power. A wide
variety of processes have therefore been patented,108-24 but very little
information is available on the actual industrial processes except
those given in the classical article by Burghardt125 and thereafter
by Rich.1 A general process flowsheet (Fig. 5.6) which depicts
modern industrial practice is now described.
 Rotary
dryer Pulverizer

Water
Rotary
vacuum
Thickener filter Product
Continuous counter current to
thickeners packaging

FIG. 5.6. Flowsheet for the manufacture of acid-activated clays.

 Activation 43

The raw clay as mined is air-dried and is hauled to the mill where
primary and secondary roll crushers reduce it to finer size. The pro-
duct from the mill is conveyed to the treating tanks and mixed with
water to form a slurry of desired consistency. Alternately, the raw
clay is blunged with water in a thickener and the thick slime is
pumped to the treating tank. Acid is added to the tank in calculated
amounts. The charge is heated to boiling using steam. Heating is
continued normally for about 3-4 hours under constant mechanical
agitation. The treating tanks are fabricated of corrosion-resistant
materials, commonly Duriron, lead or rubber. Sometimes pine wood
reaction vessels are also employed in which case the contents are
heated by admitting live steam through an acid-proof distributor.
After the activation, the sludge is transferred to a continuous thick-
ener system where the solids move in a direction countercurrent to
the wash water. The slurry, washed free of soluble salts and excess
acid, is pumped to a rotary vacuum filter or to a filter press with
wooden frames. The cake from the filter is sent to a rotary dryer
where the moisture is reduced to 10-15 per cent. The dried material
is pulverized to the desired size in a Raymond mill equipped with an
air swept classifier or in afluid-energygrinding mill. The product is
packed and marketed as contact grade bleaching clay.
A study of the patent literature126-9 reveals that in recent years a
"dry method" of activation is also being adopted, in which the
consistency of the acid/clay/water mix is adjusted to a thick paste,
which can be extruded into pellets and heated to relatively higher
temperatures than are possible in the "slurry method" described
above. The remainder of the processing following the activation is
unchanged. A few processes describe washing of the acid-treated
clay with polar liquids to partially replace the sorbed mois-
ture.103-5,130' m This aspect has been dealt with separately in the
text.