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 One hundred million years ago, volcanoes rose from the sea dividing continents, creating mountains and forming much of the land as we know it. As these volcanoes erupted, molten lava and thick ash, composed of ash-aluminosilicate and alkaline earths poured into the sea.
Zeolite is an inorganic material that originates from volcanic ash that is spewed into the atmosphere during violent eruptions. The volcanic ash plumes often travel thousands of miles before being deposited on the earth's surface. Zeolites are often formed where volcanic rock is immersed in water. This immersion causes a leaching of some of the components.
Over the years the combination of volcanic ash and sea water produced chemical reactions forming precious natural minerals like Zeolites in the hardened lava. Small variations in temperature, geographical location and ash/water properties gave rise to slight differences in the composition and properties of the zeolite deposits.
The silica and alumina molecules of the ash formed a stable three dimensional honey comb structure that can differ depending upon the ratio of alumina and silica molecules and results in over forty natural zeolite structures.
Zeolites are natural volcanic minerals with unique, complex crystalline structures. Their honeycomb like framework of cavities and channels (like cages) enables the mineral to absorb and adsorb various solutions, gases, petrochemicals, heavy metals and low level radioactive elements. In fact, because it is one of the few negatively charged minerals found in nature, zeolites act as magnets, drawing positively charged particles into the crystalline structure and capturing them.
The array of channels within the structure provides large surface areas for chemical reactions to take place and occupies 51% of the crystals volume. Zeolite molecules can be found in three main forms: fibrous, leafy or crystalline. The supplemental use of zeolite comes from the crystalline form which contains high quantities of the mineral “Clinoptilolite”.
The term "Zeolite" was originally coined in the 18th century by a Swedish mineralogist named Axel Fredrik Cronstedt who observed, upon rapidly heating a natural mineral, that the stones began to dance about as the water evaporated. Using the Greek words which mean "stone that boils," he called this material zeolite.
More than 150 zeolite types have been synthesized and 48 naturally occurring zeolites are known.
Click here for more information about zeolite and its many uses. |
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