Sepiolite clay
Natural hydrous magnesium silicate
Grade: 100 mesh
Uses: Horticultural products. Poultices for masonary restoration.
PLEASE NOTE: This product is not for human or animal consumption.
Technical Background
Sepiolite is a natural hydrous magnesium silicate. A clay mineral, structurally it consists of two sheets of SiO4 tetrahedral bonded via oxygen atoms to a central sheet of octahedrally arranged magnesium atoms.
Sepiolite has internal channels called "zeolitic channels" which run the length of its structure and open via pores of varying shapes and dimensions at the surface. Along the edges of the tetrahedral sheets are silanol (SiOH) groups which can readily hydrogen bond with water and other polar molecules. The magnesium layer also provides absorption sites.
A highly porous mineral with low bulk density, Sepiolite is an effective absorbent. At the same time, due to its rigid structure, sepiolite will not swell in the presence of water or other liquids.
An approximate empirical formula for Sepiolite is:
Si12Mg8O30(OH)4(OH2)4.8H2O
