
Zeolites are aluminosilicate minerals with crystalline, microporous appearance, which allows zeolites to absorb various cations, including water. Zeolites are naturally available, which can be obtained in mines using conventional open-pit mining techniques. Though zeolites can also be manufactured industrially for various commercial applications, natural zeolites have unique characteristics and over 40 different categories, each with different compositions. This is triggering demand for natural zeolites for various end-user application, boosting growth of the natural zeolites market.
Synthetic zeolites and natural zeolites are differentiated from each other on the basis of time scale in which they are produced, and the purity and quality of zeolites. Natural zeolites are consider lower on purity than synthetic zeolites as natural zeolites have more chemical elements and greater crystalchemical and structural variability. Though natural zeolites take a million years to form, the demand for natural zeolites has been increasing, which is attributed to its applications in various end-user industries such as agriculture, water treatment, and filtration in the oil & gas industry.