Zeolites and Usage Areas
Although zeolites have a widespread availability and great market potential, they have just begun to be accepted in many market areas. It is easier and cheaper to find and operate natural zeolites in large reserves in nature. Natural zeolites are found in nature in large reserves and their operation is easier and cheaper than other mines. Nevertheless, natural zeolites have not been fully utilized in the world market due to their lack of purity and pore diameters. For this reason, the use of artificial zeolite has wider usage areas.
The zeolites, which have a wide range of commercial applications and constitute the subject of many researches, were discovered by Cronstedt, a mineralogist in 1756. Cronstedt referred to this mineral as "zeolite" consisting of the words "zeo" and "lithos" meaning "boiling" and "stone" in Greek, as it encountered a phenomenon similar to boiling when he heated the material he found.
Zeolites are microporous crystal inclusions containing aluminum, silica and oxygen in their cage structures and cations and water in their pores. Silica and aluminum atoms are bonded tetrahedral to each other by a common oxygen atom. There are wide gaps that form channels in the zeolite structure . These channels allow ions and molecules to pass easily through the zeolite structure. Zeolites are known as "molecular sieves" with this feature.
Formation of Zeolites
Changes in the formation of zeolites, such as temperature, geological location, water / ash ratio, add unique properties to their compositions. There are 42 zeolite species with different compositions. Clinoptilolite is the most widely used and most commercially available species in industrial size. The formation of natural zeolite deposits can be grouped into six groups according to their environment.
- The deposits of volcanic material accumulating in the salty (closed) lakes and resulting in the reaction with the lake water.
- Bearings formed by volcanic material accumulation and chemical reaction with lake water in sweet or salty open lakes.
- Deposits of volcanic material on the shore or deep marine environment and resulting in reaction with sea water.
- As a result of low-temperature burial metamorphism, zeolite deposits composed of Al-Si sediments or volcanic materials.
- Influence of hydrothermal or hot spring water on Al-Si material and breakdown of this material.
- Generally, zeolite deposits occurring in the marine or lacustrine environments, which are observed between the 2nd time deposits and whose origins can not be determined as volcanic.
Structure of Zeolites
Zeolites are aqueous (hydrated) aluminosilicate crystals of alkali and alkaline earth metals. The general formulas are as follows.
"M" represents the cationic alkali and alkaline earth metals such as Na, K, Ca, Ba. "n" is cation value and "y" is amount of water in unit cell in structure formula. "x" is the number of silicon in the skeleton form.
Usage Area of Zeolits
The major physical and chemical properties of zeolites, ion exchange capability, molecular sieve structure, silica content, light color in sedimentary zeolites, lightness and pore structure of small crystals have caused zeolites to be used in a wide variety of industrial fields. Usage areas that one or more of these properties of natural zeolites that have come to the status of important industrial raw materials in recent years can be gathered in five main areas such as pollution control, energy, agriculture, animal husbandry, mining-metallurgy and other fields.
1. Pollution Control
Zeolite minerals are increasingly used in pollution control due to their ion exchange and adsorption properties. For this purpose, zeolites are used in the handling of radioactive wastes in the wastewater, the adsorption of metal ions and nitrogen compounds in waste water, adsorption of flue gases, cleaning of oil spills, refuse storage and oxygen production.
2. Energy
The world's growing energy needs are being met by coal and oil as well as by various sources that are being used and developed at the same time as nuclear and solar energy. Synthetic and natural zeolites are utilized during the conversion of these resources to energy. Zeolites are also used as catalysts in the purification of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in coal gasification, in the removal of carbon dioxide in natural gas purification, as heat exchangers in solar energy production, and in the production of petroleum products in the energy sector.
3. Agriculture and Livestock
Zeolitic tuffs have been used for many years in order to control the content of bad smell of fertilizers and to increase the pH of acid volcanic soils. Natural zeolites are widely used as fertilizer carriers in fertilizing and soil preparation, as drug carriers in agricultural struggle. In addition, it is also used as animal feed additive.
4. Mining and Metallurgy
Zeolites are used in mining, searching for mineral deposits, and for holding heavy metals in metallurgy.
5. Other Usage Areas
Apart from the areas I have mentioned mentioned above, zeolites have many uses such as paper sector, construction sector, health sector, detergent sector. Zeolites are used as additives in the paper production, concrete additives in the construction sector, toothpaste and pharmaceuticals in the health sector and phosphates in the detergent sector.
As world pollution increases, materials like this will become more essential, interesting read!
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Nice post. Well done!
Well, zeolites are also useful for biological activities. Zeolite based oxygen concentrator are used to provide medical grade oxygen.
I believe this post is original, @originalworks
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