Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, basically impure clay consisting chiefly of montmorillonite. Bentonite’s properties such as water absorption, swelling, viscosity, hydration and thixotropy make it a valuable material for a great bulk of industries.
Bentonite is extensively utilized in the foundry as well as the construction industry. It is used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, paints, dyes, polishes, paper and animal feed. Bentonite is also used to purify wastewater and to remove impurities in oils. It acts as a binding agent in the production of iron ore pellets.
Bentonite market growth is highly dependent on the demand from end-use sectors. During the past several years, the global economic recession has affected many companies involved in the industries using bentonite as a raw material. Thus, the dropping demand for bentonite together with increasing transport costs resulted in the decline of world bentonite market.
In 2012, the global bentonite production registered a 1.8% y-o-y decrease and was estimated at slightly over 15 million tonnes.
The USA is an unrivalled leader in terms of production. It is followed by China, Turkey, Greece and India.
Bentonite: world production structure, by country, 2012
BASF Catalysts, Black Hills Bentonite, GSA Resources Incorporated, Vanderbilt Minerals Corporation, Arcillas Procesadas, Minarmco SA, Bentonit Uniao do Nordeste SA, FIM Friedland Industrial Minerals GmbH and Sud-Chemie are amid the entrenched players in the global bentonite universe.
In 2012, the leading market on a country-level, the USA, experienced a 3% decline in bentonite production and a 1.9% increase in bentonite consumption. In the same year, the country’s bentonite production stood at nearly 4.8 million tonnes and bentonite consumption was estimated at slightly above 3.9 million tonnes. Exports prevail over imports in the country. The top importers of bentonite produced in the USA include Canada, Japan and Mexico.
The world bentonite market is expected to experience poor but stable growth in the upcoming years, driven by the growth of key end-use industries. The global bentonite production is forecast to go beyond 15.39 million tonnes in 2015.
More information on the bentonite market can be found in the report Bentonite Market Review.