Production Process and Equipment of Bentonite Cat Litter

Process: Mined bentonite ore blocks are first crushed into smaller particles by a crusher, then excess moisture is removed by a dryer to facilitate subsequent grinding and sieving.

Equipment: Jaw crusher, rotary dryer.

Process: The dried bentonite is fed into equipment such as a Raymond mill and ground into fine powder. The fine powder is classified by a vibrating sieve to obtain bentonite powder of different mesh sizes (fineness). This is a key step in controlling the fineness of cat litter particles.

Equipment: Raymond mill (pendulum mill), vibrating screen classifier.

Process: Put specified proportions of bentonite fine powder, binders (to ensure clumping hardness), deodorants, fragrances, etc., into a large mixer for thorough and uniform mixing.

Equipment: Double-helix conical mixer, horizontal ribbon mixer.

Process: This is the core link in bentonite cat litter production. The mixed powder is fed into a granulator, and atomized water is sprayed simultaneously. Under the rotational rolling of the drum or disc, the powder gradually agglomerates into small pellets relying on the inherent viscosity of bentonite and the surface tension of water.

Equipment: Drum granulator, disc granulator.

Process: The newly formed pellets vary in size and need to be sieved through a multi-layer vibrating sieve to separate pellets that meet the specifications (e.g., 1-3mm, 2-4mm). Overly fine powder is returned to the granulator for re-granulation, while oversized pellets are crushed and recycled. The sieved pellets may be rolled in a polishing machine to make the surface smoother and rounder.

Equipment: Multi-layer vibrating sieve, pellet polishing machine.

Process: The sieved wet pellets enter a dryer (usually heated by electricity or natural gas) for rapid setting at high temperature to remove moisture and achieve the required dryness (usually moisture content <10%). The high-temperature cat litter after drying needs to be cooled to room temperature by a cooler to prevent moisture generation after packaging.

Equipment: Rotary dryer, fluidized bed dryer, cooler (cooling drum or cooling bed).

Process: The cooled cat litter may contain a small amount of powder, which will pass through a dust removal sieve or dust suction system to remove dust and improve product cleanliness. Finally, an automatic packaging machine is used to fill the product into plastic bags or cartons by weight (e.g., 5kg, 10kg) and seal them.

Equipment: Dust removal sieve, automatic quantitative packaging machine, sealing machine.