Characteristics of Zeolite

Zeolite is the general name for zeolite minerals, which is a water-containing alkali metal or alkaline earth metal aluminosilicate mineral. According to the characteristics of zeolite minerals, it is divided into four types: shelf-like, flaky, fibrous and unclassified. According to the characteristics of pore system, it is divided into one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional systems. Any zeolite is composed of silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons and aluminum-oxygen tetrahedrons. Tetrahedra can only be connected by vertices, that is, they share one oxygen atom, but cannot be connected by "edges" or "faces". The aluminum-oxygen tetrahedrons themselves cannot be connected, and there is at least one silicon-oxygen tetrahedron in between. The silicon-oxygen tetrahedra can be directly connected. The silicon in the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron can be replaced by aluminum atoms to form an aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron. But the aluminum atom is trivalent, so in the aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron, the electron valence of one oxygen atom is not neutralized, resulting in a charge imbalance, making the entire aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron negatively charged. In order to maintain neutrality, there must be positively charged ions to offset it, usually alkali metal and alkaline earth metal ions, such as Na, Ca, Sr, Ba, K, Mg and other metal ions. Zeolites have a variety of properties that can be utilized in industry and agriculture due to their unique internal structure and crystallization chemistry.
The natural zeolites found in the world are generally light gray and sometimes flesh red. It feels obviously lighter than ordinary stones when held in hand. This is because the interior of zeolite is full of tiny holes and channels, which is much more complex than a honeycomb. If zeolite is compared to a hotel, then there are actually 1 million "rooms" in this "super hotel" of 1 cubic micron! These rooms can automatically open or block the door according to the gender, height, fatness, and hobbies of the "passengers" (molecules and ions). They will never let "fat people" go to the "skinny" room, nor will they let tall people go. Rooming with a short guy. Based on this characteristic of zeolite, people use it to screen molecules and obtain good results. This is of particular importance for the recovery of metal particles such as copper, lead, cadmium, nickel, and molybdenum from industrial waste liquids.
Zeolite has properties such as adsorption, ion exchange, catalysis, acid resistance and heat resistance, so it is widely used as adsorbent, ion exchanger and catalyst. It can also be used for gas drying, purification and sewage treatment. Zeolite also has "nutritional" value. Adding 5% zeolite powder to the feed can accelerate the growth of poultry and livestock, make them strong and have fresh meat, and increase their egg production rate.
Due to the porous silicate nature of zeolite, there is a certain amount of air in the small pores, so it is often used to prevent explosion boiling. When heated, the air in the small holes escapes and acts as a vaporization nucleus, and small bubbles are easily formed on its edges and corners.