SPRING FINAL: RESEARCH PAPER

WHAT IS KITTY LITTER? AND WHAT IT DOES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Kitty litter is a household sorbent. A sorbent, in simple terms,

is a product that is used to absorb things. Kitty litter comes in
many forms including natural and unnatural forms. Natural
products used to create kitty litter include: corn, almonds, and
pine. These forms of cat litter are biodegradable and can be
disposed of safely. The most common type of cat litter is clay. This
type of cat litter is not biodegradable and can be very harmful to
the environment.
Because cat litter is a sorbent that we have in abundance it
is often looked at to solve problems. One of the most recent
problems cat litter has been suggested to solve is oil spills. Oil
spills occur when oil companies have equipment malfunctions
that release millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. These oil
spills are very harmful to the environment. When these spills
occur the immediate reaction is to absorb the oil then contain it.
Many sorbents exist, but kitty litter is one of the easiest to come
by.
Kitty litter works by absorbing oil and other liquids in a
method similar to a sponge absorbing water. Kitty litter granules
contain absorbent clay called bentonite. The bentonite clay in
kitty litter works to instantly absorb and contain the spread of oil.
Kitty works to absorb liquids and can be easily swept up after left
to absorb for a period time, this causes a problem when it is
suggested to put kitty litter into the ocean.
Although many mainstream companies buy kitty litter in bulk
quantities in case they have an oil incident, kitty litter is actually
not the best for cleaning up big spills in the environment. Kitty
litter is most effective for when you are cleaning a small oil spill at
your home. The reason kitty litter is not the best for cleaning up
big oil spills in the ocean is because it is actually quite harmful to
the environment. Non-biodegradable litters such as clay are the
most effective for cleaning up spills and also the MOST harmful to
the environment.

The use of sodium bentonite clay and silica gel in litters is

what makes them so harmful to the environment. Nonbiodegradable sodium bentonite clay is extremely harmful if
ingested, so it is not the best idea to have it dumped into the
ocean that is home to many living creatures. Sodium bentonite
clay also contains high levels of sodium ions which have a higher
hydration sphere than calcium ions, thus sodium bentonite clay
absorbs moisture much better than its calcium counterpart and
when wet swells approximately 15 times its original volume. The
ingestion of super-absorbent sodium bentonite clay by any
animals can lead to an accumulation of insoluble masses inside
the body causing bowel blockages, kidney problems, dehydration,
an inability to absorb nutrients and if left untreated can quickly
lead to death. It is easy to see how the substance would be
extremely harmful if introduced into the environment in mass
quantities.