Material before washing
This appears to be a mix of the bentonite and aggregate particles, likely shale and quartz. It is not clear how they are able to grind the bentonite to a granular material (it wants to be a powder). The particles do not appear to be pelletized either.
Remaining aggregate after washing
The midtone particles on the first photo appear to be the bentonite.
These particles do not appear to have significant obserbency, they are likely present in the mix to control how sticky the litter is to handle and use.
L4567 Cat Litter bentonite shard fired to cone 6.
This is identical to Wyoming bentonite, even the heavy soluble salts.
10g water, 10g material
Swelling clearly visible, it happens immediately and takes a few minutes to turn the whole water amount into a gel.
Aggregate fired at cone 6 (2200F)
The aggregate is a refractory mix of materials since almost nothing melts when fired to 2200F (left). Some of these are clearly rehydrating on water addition after firing (right), so there is a significant percentage of limestone in the mix.
The aggregate has been removed
This is a very low specific gravity slurry yet the clay is not settling out at all even after a week. Clearly this is close to 100% sodium bentonite.
It would not be possible to dewater this on plaster so we let it evaporate, it took about 6 months, leaving only a thin layer of many super hard shards.
Cat litter fired to cone 6 - 2200F
Standard Wyoming bentonite fires to this same color and character. The high aggregate content is clearly visible. This fractured into powder after about a week.
