Zeolite

Description

Zeolite sold as filter media is a natural mineral, mined and sold by the ton. The US Geological Survey's 2024 mineral commodity summary counts seven companies operating nine zeolite mines in six States, with chabazite mined in Arizona and clinoptilolite in California, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas, and an estimated 84,000 tons of natural zeolites produced in 2023. About 85,000 tons were sold in the United States that year, 6 percent more than the year before. USGS lists what the material is bought for, in descending order of estimated quantity: animal feed, odor control, unspecified end uses such as ice melt, soil amendment and synthetic turf, water purification, wastewater treatment, oil and grease absorbent, gas absorbent, pet litter, fertilizer carrier, aquaculture, fungicide or pesticide carrier, and desiccant. Animal feed, odor control and water purification together account for about 67 percent of the domestic sales tonnage. Spent zeolite is not necessarily waste: USGS notes that zeolites used for desiccation, gas absorbance, wastewater treatment and water purification may be reused after reprocessing. What it does inside a filter is chemical filtration rather than mechanical or biological work. The Merck Veterinary Manual's account of production methods in aquaculture gives the definition and the example in one sentence: chemical filtration is used to change the concentration of specific ions or compounds in the water, as with ion-exchange resins such as those used in softeners to remove calcium, or zeolite to bind ammonia.

Sources

• pubs.usgs.gov — https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024-zeolites.pdf
• merckvetmanual.com — https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/aquaculture/production-methods-in-aquaculture

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