Papers - Use of Bleaching Clays in Water Purification (T. P. 1018, with discussion)

Bleaching clays have been used extensively in the oil-refining industries for a number of years. Their use in water purification is relatively recent and less extensive. They are frequently classified as (1) those naturally active and (2) those active after artificial activation with acid. Fuller's earths fall within the general group of bleaching clays and gradually the commercial term "fuller's earth" has been applied to natural clays originating, for the most part, in the southeastern section of the United States. Bentonitic clays are usually classed as activable and are prevalent in the southwestern section of the United States.l Bleaching clays vary considerably in chemical and physical properties throughout the country, or even in different parts of one deposit (Table 1). The fuller's earth type of clay is characterized by a lack of plasticity, relatively adsorbent, foliated structure, and does not swell to form a