New Opportunities in Natural Zeolites

Forming the heart of hundreds of processes as catalysts, adsorbents, ion-exchange and purification agents, crystalline molecular sieves are among the most important and valuable classes of inorganic materials. Utilized in petroleum cracking for gasoline production, oxygen production from air, water purification by removing heavy metals and much more, these materials directly impact our lives. New processes employing these materials continue to evolve in the areas of separations, purifications and catalytic reactions. Almost all of these processes depend on synthetic materials for their effectiveness. Abundant natural mineral zeolites have long been viewed as poor relatives of synthetic materials and have generally been relegated to bulk applications where effectiveness is secondary to price. In certain cases, natural zeolites possess properties superior to or unavailable in synthetic analogs. We will review some of these emerging opportunities including the economical manufacture of metal nanoparticles, especially silver, by templating on natural zeolite surfaces; the preparation of robust, high temperature, high flux gas separation membranes from formed natural zeolites and advances in upgrading of bitumen from oilsands by selective asphaltene cracking and contaminant removal.