China's attapulgite industry has transitioned from extensive resource utilization to refined modification and functional specialization, driven by the evolving demands for adsorption, colloidal, and catalytic properties in downstream industries. In the 1980s and 1990s, relying on high-quality attapulgite resources in Xuyi (Jiangsu), Mingguang (Anhui), Linze (Gansu), and other regions, the industry focused on mining and simple crushing. Products were mostly ordinary attapulgite powder (purity ≤ 70%, colloid index ≤ 30%), mainly used in basic fields such as pesticide carriers, feed additives, and common desiccants, characterized by high impurity content, poor functional stability, and limited added value.

Since the turn of the century, demands from environmental treatment (advanced wastewater treatment), high-end building materials (thickening for water-based coatings), and the petrochemical industry (lubricating oil decolorization), along with policy regulations, have driven the industry's transformation toward purification, activation/modification, and composite enhancement. High purity (≥ 90%) is achieved through processes like flotation and acid leaching. Adsorption capacity and colloidal stability (colloid index ≥ 60%) are enhanced using techniques such as calcination activation and organic modification. This has led to the development of high-adsorption, high-colloid, and catalyst carrier products, enabling breakthroughs in applications like industrial wastewater treatment, high-end coatings, and edible oil decolorization.

In recent years, high-end demands from new energy (lithium battery separator coatings, energy storage material carriers), pharmaceuticals (pharmaceutical excipients), and environmental remediation (soil improvement) have emerged. Coupled with the evolution of standards, the industry is accelerating its upgrade toward efficient resource utilization and high-end product customization. Today, China is the world's largest producer and consumer of attapulgite, with products covering the full range: raw ore, water-washed refined powder, activated/modified powder, and composite functional materials. These are widely used in dozens of fields, including environmental protection, building materials, petrochemicals, new energy, and pharmaceuticals.

We have set up a dedicated attapulgite mineral testing team. Based on product type and application scenario (environmental adsorption, paint thickening, lithium battery coating, pharmaceutical excipient), we provide customized testing services—including adsorption capacity measurement, colloid index determination, purity analysis, impurity screening (heavy metals, arsenic), and dispersion stability—helping products build advantages in performance optimization and regulatory compliance.