The Science of Living Clay
Clay History & Info
Living Clay
The Science of Living Clay
Why Use Clay Products
Benefits of Living Clay
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The Clay Cure : Natural Healing from the Earth by Ran Knishinsky
Absorption characterizes the process by which substances stick to the outside surface of the adsorbent medium. The clay possesses unsatisfied ionic bonds around the edges of its mineral particles. It naturally seeks to satisfy those bonds. For this to happen, it must meet with a substance carrying an opposite electrical (ionic) charge. When this occurs, the ions held around the outside structural units of the adsorbent medium and the substance are exchanged.
Absorption is a much more slow and involved process than adsorption. Here, the clay acts more like a sponge, drawing substances into its internal
structure. In order for absorption to occur, the substance must undergo a chemical change to penetrate the medium's barrier. Once it has done that, it enters between the unit layers of the structure. Instead of the toxins, for instance, sticking only to the surface, they are actually pulled inside the clay. This is the reason why absorptive clays are labeled expandable clays.
Any clay mineral with an inner layer charge is an absorbent. Having an inner layer charge means having charged ions, sitting between layers, that are surrounded by water molecules. In this way, the clay will expand as the substance to be absorbed fills the spaces between the stacked silicate layers.