[PawComfort]

Hello my friends  I hope everything on your side will be fine 
I am Sarah, an Advocate by profession. Facing a problem, searched a lot on google for weeks but unable to find an answer so finally i am here to seek your help . 
I need to make Sodium Bentonite Cat Litter (ball shaped) in bulk quantity, Bentonite Powder comes in fine powdered form. I talked to different manufacturers who are making ball shaped cat litters but they all kept it a secret  However one person told me that some kind of Acid or Chemical is used which is directly sprayed or put in Sodium Bentonite powder to form hard balls in no time. I need to ask you guys if you have any idea about that chemical or any other way to chemically convert a powder into hard solid form with some chemical? Do remember that Sodium Bentonite is naturally found in Hard Rock Shape which afterwards is grinned into powder. I need it to be in ball shapes, simple crushing the stones will turn them into irregular shape which is not a requirement. For your convenience and better idea about the shape i am posting a picture also.
Any help would be highly appreciated as i am desperately in need of some solution, almost hopeless .
Best Regards
Sarah

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/518/704/495/495704518_416.jpg

[Arkcon]

I have a grade of bentonite that is more like a pellet form, that's just how its been formed.  It can also be in dust form (that would be bad for a cat's lungs) or pelleted in large balls, like you have pictured, complete with scent and color.  How that is achieved is likely a trade secret, however.

[Intanjir]

Wouldn't just water work? Bentonite will cohere into whatever shape you form it into after drying like any clay. Certainly you could strengthen it a bit either by firing the pellets(but not too hot) or with some chemical additive. Dilute sodium silicate is one option. Here are some more. Evidently bentonite is already one of the strongest clays when dried but not fired and so they use it to strengthen the others.

My first thought for how to make spheres was some kind of ball mill/rock tumbler set up to round the edges of pellets. Probably wouldn't work well if still wet and sticky and there would be a lot of fine dust to sift out if too dry. After a brief googling I think that the pictured cat litter was probably formed into spheres by using a 'disc pelletizer'. The general visual distribution of size and shape seems right.

This patent seems relevent:
http://www.google.com/patents/US5469809