Whats the difference between Bentonite and Montmorilonite?
A Bentonite is generally regarded as an impure ore of clays containing the crystalline structure Montmorillonite and other crystalline structures. The degree to which a Bentonite is free of impurities is the degree to which it approximates montmorillonite. In the real world it is difficult to find large deposits of a mineral that are 100% pure. Moreover, almost no source of Bentonite would attempt to separate the Montmorillonite from the rest of the composite. The economics just don’t support that kind of refinement. So in practice, what you have is Bentonites and Montmorillonites competing with each other in the marketplace. It may be confusing, but the real answer is in practice they are the same thing, with minerals classified as Montmorilonites being of a more pure kind. Perhaps the better question is what is the difference between Calcium Bentonite (Montmorillonite) and Sodium Bentonite (Montmorillonite). Sodium Bentonite is not advised for ingestion and is generally regarded as a
