A clay (most often a Ca-bentonite) treated with concentrated acid in aqueous suspensions and, depending on how the clay is to be used, at various elevated temperatures and subsequently washed, dried, and pulverized. The modification results in enhancements in surface acidity, increased specific surface area, and higher porosity, all of which improve edible-oil bleaching or adsorption properties. Surface acidity for a clay was noted by K. Kobayashi in 1899 in Japan, and he termed the clay as “acid clay”. Hence, “acid clay” and “activated clay” are separately described in Japan. More recent adaptations of acid activation applied to other fuller’s earth clays (e.g., clays rich in sepiolite or palygorskite or mixture of palygorskite and montmorillonite) have either improved upon or eliminated processing steps associated with “classical” acid activation to produce different bleaching clay products for refining numerous edible oils. It is common to include the activation process when describing activated clays, e.g., “thermal-activated clay”, “Na2CO3-activated clay”.
See also bleaching clay, fuller’s earth;
Cf., activated clay, beneficiation, bleaching clay