Glossary - B

Bentonite

Bentonite is a type of clay named after Fort Benton, USA, where it was originally found. It consists mainly of the clay mineral montmorillonite, which plays an important role in determining its properties, due to its special layered structure. After appropriate processing and activation, bentonite products are used as highly-versatile adsorbents and additives, e.g. in the food, detergent and foundry industries.

Bentonite suspension

A mixture of bentonite and water. It is used in the construction industry to stabilize slot drilling.

Balance sheet

A balance sheet lists a company’s entire assets (assets) on the one hand, and its equity and borrowed capital (liabilities & shareholders' equity) on the other. A public limited company publishes its balance sheet after the end of each financial year to provide an overview of its asset and debt situation.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a fuel extracted from vegetable oils and animal fats and is therefore a source of renewable energy. In chemical terms it comprises fatty acid methyl ester (FAME).

Bioethanol

Ethanol produced solely from regenerative biomass.

Biocatalysis

In the case of biocatalysis, enzymes are used to catalyze chemical reactions.

Biomass

Biomass denotes the total mass of organic material within a defined ecological system following biochemical synthesis. It contains the mass of all living organisms, dead organisms and organic metabolic products.

Biomass-to-chemicals (BTC) process

Process for converting biomass (e.g. wood, straw, starch), i.e. regenerative raw materials into chemical products.

Biomass-to-liquid (BTL) process

Process for producing synthetic fuels from all forms of residual and waste biomass.

Bleaching earth

Highly-activated bleaching earth is created by treating clay minerals (e.g. bentonite) with acid. It is mainly used to refine edible oils.

Butane

A hydrocarbon found in crude oil and natural gas condensate, marketed in liquid form.