Why Zeolite?

As the generation of waste increases (particularly in china’s impressive growth period in the last 30 years), so to does the waste management processes and techniques that are used.

Despite the relatively high capital cost of WTE (Waste-to-Energy), the central government of China has been so far extremely proactive with regard to increasing waste management attention and interest. Zeolite provides an innovative step-up for China to take the lead in global toxic waste management. By encapsulating waste in Zeolite’s unique makeup, China will be able to utilise Zeolite to further improve on current waste management techniques such as landfill, composting and even Waste-to-Energy techniques.

Zeolite is not a newly researched or discovered mineral. One of Zeolite’s first debuts was during the United State’s first deep geologic radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada where it was discovered that Zeolite was needed and therefore used to inhibit the transport of any potentially leaking radionuclides. Nevada’s natural abundance of Zeolites (in this case mordenite and clinoptilolite) were at the heart of the United State’s successful toxic waste management.

Zeolite is an excellent tool to handle and control nuclear and radioactive waste. As zeolite is impervious to radiation, it can be utilised to exchange and encapsulate certain ions (radioactive cesium and strontium particularly from wastewater). As zeolite comes in a powdered form similar to sand, it is globally used as a filler in concrete. The concrete can then be left to set in drums or barrels along with any waste and then either buried in landfill or even cast into the ocean.

Zeolite can be used as an air-pollutant adsorbent as it is made into Hydrophobic zeolite to concentrate Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) by using a VOC concentrator.

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Benefits of Zeolite

Agriculture & Environment Protection

Alagrow Zeolite has many uses and applications, not just from a commercial perspective but also from an environmental protection perspective.

Agriculture –  Broad Acre Applications

When applied to soils (particularly sandy soils) in relatively small quantities, zeolite holds moisture and nutrient that can only be accessed by plants and crops. These nutrients and artificial fertilizers are then being prevented from being washed and leeched into the rivers and underground water systems protecting environmentally sensitive areas such as the Great Barrier Reef. 

Agriculture – Soil Desalination

Preliminary research and development has been conducted by Alagrow Zeolite using Zeolite in the rehabilitation of salty soils destroyed by poor agricultural management practices. These initial tests have shown promising results however more funding is required to commercialise the findings.

Agriculture – Water Filtration

Due to the cation exchange capacities and hardness of Alagrow Zeolite, it is ideally suited for applications in household pools, aqua-culture and sewerage treatment where continual cleaning and back washing is necessary.

The following extract from Zeolite Australia shows the impact zeolite application has on food production and how production can be dramatically improved and the costs of fertiliers can be dramatically reduced by applying zeolite in broad acre farming.

 

General Applications

Zeolites have a wide range of commercial uses:

Aquaculture

• Ammonia filtration in fish hatcheries
• Biofilter media

Agriculture

• Odor control
• Confined animal environmental control
• Livestock feed additives 60

Horticulture

• Nurseries, greenhouses
• Floriculture
• Vegetables/herbs
• Foliage
• Tree and shrub transplanting
• Turf grass soil amendment
• Reclamation, revegetation, and landscaping
• Silviculture (forestry, tree plantations)
• Medium for hydroponic growing

Household Products

• Household odor control
• Pet odor control

Industrial Products

• Absorbents for oil and spills
• Gas separations

Radioactive Waste

• Site remediation/decontamination

Water Treatment

• Water filtration
• Heavy metal removal
• Swimming pools

Wastewater Treatment

• Ammonia removal in municipal sludge/wastewater
• Heavy metal removal
• Septic leach fields