Applications (Uses) of Zeolites in Civil Construction and other Fields

Besides the widely usage of zeolites in the Livestock and Agriculture Industries, it is also utilized in the civil constructions and other technological fields as well.

To begin with, zeolites can also be used for separating oxygen and nitrogen in the air to produce oxygen-enriched gas. This technology utilizes the strong absorbability of mordenite to nitrogen molecules to generate oxygen continuously which is vastly depend on the device and can also produce nitrogen as well.

Zeolite rock/ore is generally soft but not fragile is used as teaching material for carving for school children and is also used as cleanser.

One of the new applications of zeolites is in food packaging materials that are made of polyethylene film incorporated with zeolites was developed with an aim to retain the freshness of food or fruits and vegetables.

One of the most important applications of zeolites is in the civil constructions. In civil constructions, zeolites are used as new lightweight building materials such as plastic filler and plywood adhesives. Further to the lightweight, zeolites are also used as foam blocks incorporated in linings of chimneys of thermal plants and dolomite plaster.

Similar to zeolite, siliceous mud-stone is utilized in such applications as soil conditioners, deodorizers (for environment improvement of poultry and pig farms), and special fertilizers.

Siliceous mudstone is also referred to as “crystobal rock” which contains a lot of crystobalite composed of silica (SiO₂).

Zeolite is used in a wide range of applications and among them is the clay for papermaking which was developed in Japan. Zeolite is soft and its powder is significantly white and it is applied to papermaking to take advantage of its properties. Zeolite clay is serving as a filter which provided paper with high opacity and excellent ink acceptance.

Synthetic zeolite was invented by German Professor Gans in 1905, and was first named permutit and after permutare, a Latin word meaning exchange. Permutit has a composition of Na₂O.Al₂O.xSiO₂.yH₂O and strong adsorbability.

Crushed Zeolite Materials ready for loading

References:

Boiling stone (zeolite), Zeolite Dynamics, Lecture Notes.

Nouko to Engei (Agriculture and Horticulture), September 1978.

JACK News

Materials for Zeolite Forum (1989)

Survey by Zeolite Industrial Association

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Applications (Uses) of Zeolites in the Livestock and Agriculture Industries.

Zeolites are widely used in the livestock and agriculture industries among other uses. In this article, it discusses the common uses of zeolites in the livestock and agriculture industries. In the Livestock Industry, zeolite is purposely used for improving the growth and health of animals while in the Agriculture Industry, zeolite is used for the purpose of improving the fertility of the soil for healthy growth of cash crops.

The use of zeolites in the livestock industry is basically added to the livestock feed which absorb the toxins in the body of chickens and pigs and finally discharge them out of the body.

Furthermore, the minerals contained in the zeolites actually promote the growth and health of livestock. That is, zeolites adsorb the stench of ammonia to improve the environment and also function as drying aids by virtue of their ability to absorb moisture. Thus, cat litter (litter for pets) utilize such properties of zeolites for optimum benefits.

In the Agriculture Industry, it utilizes the properties of zeolites such as the adsorption capability and Base Exchange capability which prevent the outflow of fertilizers by absorbing the components of fertilizers as well as improving soils by neutralizing soils containing acids or acidic soils. Zeolites also have excellent absorption ability and water retention capacity which make them more effective in preventing either drought or cold weather impacts of any kind cause by nature.

Estimation of cation exchange capacity of zeolite is much more difficult as it is closely related with qualities from its appearance. As such, zeolite powder is not readily distinguished from other rock powder.

Zeolite is specified as land improvement material by a Cabinet Order based on the Soil fertility Enhancement Act (Act No.34 of 1984) in order to assure the quality. According to Cabinet Order, the zeolite must meet the criterion “cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) per 100 g of dry matter is 50g or more.”

Moreover, the applications or uses of zeolites range from water purification for fish farming to pollution prevention exercises. The water purification for fish farming refers to a function to adsorb ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in water which produces purified water.  In addition to that, zeolites have an effect of softening hard water to stabilize pH.

Besides water purification for fish farming, zeolites are also used for pollution prevention in the following fields:

·         Purification of hazardous components in industrial wastewater.

·         Adsorption treatment of heavy metal ions from abandoned mines.

·         Removal of heavy metals from plating waste.

·         Decolourization of waste water from dye houses.

·         Prevention of eutrophication of lakes and marshes caused by ammonia nitrogen.

·         Removal of harmful components from automobile exhaust gas.

The supply of zeolites depends entirely on clients' demand and off course consumption rate. Supply of zeolites is also dictated by scale of mining operation and processing.

Zeolite ore (rock)

References:

Boiling stone (zeolite), Zeolite Dynamics, Lecture Notes.

Nouko to Engei (Agriculture and Horticulture), September 1978.

JACK News

Materials for Zeolite Forum (1989)

Survey by Zeolite Industrial Association

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Data Analysis of Rapid PACKTEST Results

Upon the completion of the setup and PACKTEST, you have the data available at hand to record. In your note book you record the readings of pH, Turbidity, Temperature, metal conductivity. Then you have the other sets of data from the PACKTEST results. Each element tested has got a numbered color range that corresponds to the concentration of that element/compound in the water sample. You record every data for the elements that are tested.

Finally, you need to digitize the data and analyze the test results. To do that, you need to have a computer or a laptop. Create an excel spread sheet in your laptop or computer and enter the field data in a tabulated format. Your sample results look like the table below:

Table 1 Rapid PACKTEST Results

Now, data analysis is the comparison, verification and few comments or conclusion drawn from the raw data collected from various spots/sites which are tabulated like Table 1 (above). A good analysis of data/ results is always a careful comparison and contrast in the data obtained by plotting the data in different graphical methods.

Be careful to graph the related data so that any conclusion drawn can make sense with respect to particular information. i.e. if you plot all the data into one graph then always take note of the legends so that your interpretation is accurate in reporting.

It is also better to take readings at different weather patterns i.e. during rainy seasons and dry seasons. Remember to keep the sample points unchanged so that a good comparison is made.

From the data analysis, it is better to make few comments and off course a recommendation is anticipated from the field investigation. Your recommendation should provide a clear direction/ indication should there be precautions taken within the vicinity of the impacted project area especially the mine impacted communities. Your recommendation should also alert the local government authorities regarding the findings and what to do in that part of the area.

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Characteristics of Zeolite Ore

• Like any other matters, Zeolite has two major characteristics which are:

1.      a chemical composition having zeolitic water, and

2.      An excellent ion exchange capability.

Zeolitic water is unique in the composition which is hardly observed in other minerals, as dehydration occurs without changing the crystal structure under heating. This hydration behaviour enables zeolite to be used as moisture absorbent.

In addition, the dehydrated zeolite has a myriad of holes like a honeycomp and the holes have such small sizes in the order of angstroms (Symbole:Å, unit cm/100 million). Accordingly a mixture of gasses with different molecular sizes, which are chemically difficult to separate at the molecular level, can be sieved through zeolite. This is called the “molecular sieve effect.”

The Cation exchange capacity of zeolite is explained as follows:

The general chemical composition of zeolite in general is indicated by

(M²⁺,M₂₊)O.Al₂O₃.mSiO₂.nH₂O. The symbols in the parentheses at the beginning of the formula indicate exchangeable cations. Cations in zeolite are exchangeable with other cations in aqueous solutions. In chemical terms, material with a positive charge is referred to as a base. The ability to exchange bases is Base Exchange capability (or cation exchange capability), while the capacity to exchange bases is base exchange capacity (or cation exchange capacity) and is called C.E.C., the acronym for “Cation Exchange Capacity.”

Ion exchangeability allows silicon (Si) atoms located in the centre of the zeolite crystal lattice to be partially replaced with aluminium (Al) atoms, resulting in the loss of cations. Cations such as sodium (Na), Calcium (Ca) are captured in the crystal lattice to compensate for the shortage.

The function of C.E.C. is similar to that of the liver of an animal which stores nutrients. Zeolite adsorbs and stores fertilizer components (bases) such as sodium, potassium and calcium to supply the nutrients (fertilizer components) to crops in response to request.

The unit of cation exchange capacity is represented by mg equivalent (meq) per 100g of soils or zeolite rocks.

The cation capacities of clay minerals are different depending on the type of minerals. Montmorillonite is the main mineral source for bentonite which exhibits the highest C.E.C. after zeolite.

Reference:

Boiling stone (zeolite), Zeolite Dynamics, Lecture Notes.

Roskill Report (1990)

Annual Reports of Various Companies.

Nouko to Engei (Agriculture and Horticulture), September 1978.

JACT News.

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Localities of Zeolite Ore

Since all Zeolites are alteration products of volcanic glass present in tuff (a rock containing consolidated volcanic ash) or tuff breccia (rock consists of volcanic rocks cemented together by large amount of volcanic ash), the ore does not consist solely of zeolite, and thus it is appropriate to be called zeolite-containing tuff.

Zeolite resources can be found in sedimentary layers or rocks of volcanic ash throughout the world. Natural zeolite deposits have recently been discovered in the Pacific Rim countries, including New Zealand and countries of Mediterranean coast.  Among these countries, Japan has been leading the rest of the world in the exploration and development of natural zeolite and has been the world’s major producing countries.

Localities of Natural zeolite in the United States are distributed mainly in the western states such as Oregon, Nevada, California and Idaho. Most of the mines produce clinoptilolite and mordenite

Apart from United States and Japan, zeolite is also discovered in Eastern European countries which include eastern part of Czechoslovakia, the north-eastern part of Hungary, the north-western part of Yugoslavia, and south-eastern part of Bulgaria. And also countries like Italy, Cuba, Brazil, South Africa and China are all recorded as zeolite producing countries.

Australia recently started producing natural zeolite in Werris Creek, South of Tamworth in New South Wales as well as Cranky Corner near Singleton.

Zeolite is purified differently depending on the nature of the ores and is associated to the processes of granulation, drying, milling, screening (sizing) and bagging. Special applications such as filler for high-quality paper, after milling, the zeolite is subject to wet process of bleaching, concentration, filtering and finally drying.

Zeolite boulders

Reference:

Boiling stone (zeolite), Zeolite Dynamics, Lecture Notes.

Roskill Report (1990)

Annual Reports of Various Companies

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Zeolite (Boiling Stone) Ore

Zeoilte (Boiling Stone) Ore

Zeolite is a term referred to as Boiling Stone. The Term Zeolite is derived from two Greek words Zeo (to boil) and Lite (a stone).  The heated ore supported at the tip of a blowpipe which is used for qualitative research is observed to swell into a pumice-like porous state when air is blown from the mouthpiece. The phrase boiling term comes from this behaviour.

Zeolite is an aluminosilicate mineral (silicate in which silicone atoms are partially replaced with aluminium atoms) containing maily alkali metals such as sodium and potassium and alkaline earth metals such as calcium and magnesium, as well as water molucules (H₂O) in the form of crystals.

(M²⁺,M₂₊)O.Al₂O₃.mSiO₂.nH₂O

M^2+: Mainly Calcium (Ca)

M⁺: Mainly Sodium (Na), Potassium (K)

Zeolite commonly occur in pores of volcanic rocks or inside the rocks in the shape of veins, and are found in the strata near metal ore deposits as well as geothermal power plants and hot springs. Volcanic glass in tuff often transforms into zeolite under the influence of seawater. As a result, besides pure zeolite components, zeolite rock contains minerals such as clay (montmorillonite), iron oxide and feldspar.

Generally, zeolite will generate different zeolite crystal structures, even if it is from the same origin rock, depending on the burial depths, with the pressure on the rock increases to affect the crystal structure with and aid of ground water and hot water. Natural

Among many minerals, the widely distributed natural zeolites are clinoptilolite (often called ‘clino’) and mordenite.

Laumontite is a white plate-like or columnar crystal. Laumontite, which is formed primarily by the action of hot spring water, replaces minerals in rocks or fill cracks making a pattern of veins. Laumontite can be found in aggregates (or gravel) in concrete.

Laumontite is said to react with alkali in cement (alkali-aggregate reaction) to inflate the aggregate which cause cracking.

Applications of zeolite will be in the next article.

Reference: Boiling stone (zeolite), Zeolite Dynamics, Lecture Notes.

Zeolite ore 

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How to Conduct Rapid PACKTEST in a Well (below 1 meter in depth)

Well is simply a shaft sunk into the ground or built upwards from certain depths below a natural surface of the ground which extends further above certain heights of the natural surface of the ground 

Wells can be naturally occurring or man-made. Man-made wells are created to suite the desired purpose(s) of the organisation or individuals. Wells can be created to collect water or oil or gas below the earth’s surface.

In a mining operation, wells are created for the purposes of heap leaching through a vat. Heap Leaching is one of the various mining techniques to extract gold from the ore of various host rocks using cyanide which is one of the common solvent in this gold recovery technique.

During the gold recovery process, cyanide is sprinkled over the heap of crushed gold bearing gravels (ore) to dissolve the gold into a pregnant solution or into liquid form. The pregnant solution is then sucked out through the vat and further into carbon columns and take to the processing plant for further processing and smelting.

Upon the closure of the mine, the vats are no longer in use. Cyanide is left behind the pool beside the heap-vats eventually gets into the surrounding environment which is a concern for mine waste management. Water is then filled through the Vats up to certain heights.  So from the top and surface of the heap-vats, the water level is below certain depths of about 2 – 3 meters which are hardly reached by hand. And also the diameter of the vats is about 30-40 cm which is too narrow to be accessed. So how can you how can you overcome this challenge to take a water sample for a Rapid PACKTEST as well as other measurements?

The simple way to get sample is by utilizing the following equipment procedures:

1.     String line (rope)

2.     Metal weight(1kg weight)

3.     3x1 Litre plastic bottle(container)

4.     Masking tape

5.     Water level measuring tape

6.     GPS

7.     Note book, pen, pencil

8.     Camera

9.     Blade/kitchen knife

10. PACKTEST kits

11. Syringe

12. 0.45µm filter

13. turbidity meter

14. pH meter

15. Laptop/computer

 Procedure

1.     Cut the 1 Litre plastic bottles (container) into more than half.

2.     Tie the 1kg metal weight at the tip of the string line.

3.     With the masking tape, fasten the cut container with the weight attached to the string line.

4.     Drop the container attached to the weight and stringline into the well and allow the container to be filled with water.

5.     Pull the string line with all its attached items and pour the fetched water into the other reserved containers.

6.     Never forget to measure the water level by using the 50m water level measuring tape.

7.     Using the GPS you take the readings of sample location coordinates and altitude and location zone.

8.     Finally , you conduct Rapid PACKTEST and

9.     Turbidity and pH measurements, conductivity and temperature readings as well.

The above procedure can be repeated for wells or pools that are hardly accessible in person or by hand.

Data Collection of the Rapid PACKTEST is the final thing to do before moving to the next location or ending the field work.

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Data Collection of Rapid PACKTEST Results

Data collection is the recording and assembling of results obtained from the Rapid PACKTEST experiments at various locations.

Before you conduct the packtests, you need to have the required materials for preparation, experiment and recording of data. The materials and equipment you would require for testing include but not limited to:
 Packtest Kits.
 GPS
 Note Book
 Pencil/pen
 3 x Half cut container
 syringe
 0.45µm filter
 Camera/smart phone with camera.
 turbidity meter
 pH meter
 Laptop/computer

Once you have the above equipment list, you are about to conduct the PACKTEST and other necessary measurements. But before that you must never forget to give a sample location name or sample code/ID and record the coordinates, location zone and offcourse altitude of the sample location. This will ease the management of various data of the same type.

Thereafter, you proceed with the PACKTEST procedures as outline below which is a global practice:

Sampling Procedure for PACKTEST

1. Fetch water in container and filter the water using syringe and 0.45µm filter to filter water sample and pour filtered water sample into a clear mini cylinder(half cut container).
2. Remove the colored line at the top of the tube to clear the aperture.
3.    Press tube's sidewall to expel air, and hold the tube.
4. Immerse the aperture of the tube into the water sample in the mini cylinder and release to fill the tube halfway.
5. Shake the tube slowly for few seconds.
6. Wait for the reaction time as indicated in the instruction manual, and then compare the actual color in the tube with provided Standard Color. The nearest color indicates the concentration value (mg/L = ppm) of the analyte in your sample.

Concurrently set up the equipment for measuring the pH, temperature, metal conductivity and turbidity of the water sample at the same sample location for the packtest water sample taken.  After the setup is complete, you take the reading carefully as the reading varies every second. It is recommended to take the best average reading.

Upon the completion of the setup and PACKTESTs, you have the data available at hand to record. In your note book you record the readings of pH, Turbidity, Temperature, metal conductivity. Then you have the other sets of data from the PACKTEST results. Each element tested has got a numbered colour range that corresponds to the concentration of that element/compound in the water sample. You record every data for the elements that are tested.

Finally you need to digitise the data and analyse the test results. To do that, you need to have a computer or a laptop. Create an excel spread sheet in your laptop or computer and enter the field data in a tabulated format. Your sample results look like the table below:

Table 1: Rapid PACKTEST Results

How to do data analysis from the PACKTEST results and other measurements is in a different article (Data Analysis of Rapid PACKTEST Results)


Related Articles:
Rapid PACKTEST
Data Collection of Rapid PACKTEST Results
Data Analysis of Rapid PACKTEST Results
How to Conduct Rapid PACKTEST in a Well

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Ramu Nickel Mine Prepares for Royalty Payment

The Ramu Nickel and Cobalt Mine in Kurumbukari, in Madang Province is preparing to pay long waited royalty to the landholders. This was reported in the National News Paper dated 28th December 2017.

Landholder Royalty for Ramu Nickel Project has not been paid since shipment till to date. This delay could be due yo the tax holiday given to the developer by the government or as a condition in the Mining Developments Contract(MDC).

This matter was brought to light but it was further delayed since then to settle administrative processes. It is now looking promising as the developer takes initiative to organize the landholders in preparation for royalty and other benefits that are ongoing.

The Mining Act 1992 is somewhat drafted in way as to cater for landholders grievances and expectations. Like in the case of landowner royalty, it will he paid directly into their accounts rather than landowners front the company's office or government's office to get their rightfully due payments.

Credits to MCC for this step towards royalty payment.

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Rapid PACKTEST

Rapid PACKTEST is commonly known as PACKTEST. This test is a simple onsite method of testing water quality which produces amazing results in a split of a second. It does not require complicated analytical techniques to determine the quality of water. Concentration of heavy metals, precious metals and any other elements and compounds in the water are detected using this method. pH of water can also be determined using this method. Water in this case can be a flowing creek,settling ponds, pool beside vats or heap leach pads, mine pits etc.

     PACKTEST Results for Pihema Creek, 

      Morobe Province.  Cyanide Detected

       (Dark-blue).

The results indicate the concentration of elements intended to test in the water which also influences the pH of water. The readings will give an estimated range of figures and do not have to be exact. Readings are taken with confidence in accuracy of about 90%. To obtain exact results, further laboratory testing is recommended.

It is recommended that Pact Test should be practiced by all government regulators in the extractive industries especially in the Mining and petroleum industry. This will greatly help during statutory inspections which can give results instantly onsite rather than waiting for results in the laboratory after few weeks or months. This will also be a alert for the industry to treat waste water effectively or improve on their waste water treatments and monitoring techniques.

The process and the setup of the testing method are outlined below.

Sampling Procedure for PACKTEST

1.            Fetch water in container and filter the water using syringe and 0.45µm filter to filter water sample and pour filtered water sample into a clear mini cylinder.

2.             Remove the colored line at the top of the tube to clear the aperture.

3.            Press tube's sidewall to expel air, and hold the tube.

4.            Immerse the aperture of the tube into the water sample in the mini cylinder and release to fill the tube halfway.

5.            Shake the tube slowly for few seconds.

6.            Wait for the reaction time as indicated in the instruction manual, and then compare the actual color in the tube with provided Standard Color. The nearest color indicates the concentration value (mg/L = ppm) of the analyte in your sample.

 The above Figure is a simplified diagram by
KYORITSU CHEMICAL-CHECK Lab as a guide.

Note: Cyanide is tested differently. Before the above procedure is applied, first of all dissolve the mixing reagent into the filtered water in a small enclosed translucent cube of about 2cm x 2cm x 1.5cm in size. Finally immerse the cyanide reagent into the solution and release to fill up the tube. Shake the tube and record the reading after 8 minutes.

The reaction times for each element or compound varies from seconds to minutes. Reaction time for cyanide takes longer than any other elements or compounds. It could be other elements or compounds as well but during the tests conducted by the reporter indicated that cyanide took longer than other elements.

It is recommended that PACKTEST should be conducted on site. It would be a bad practice if sample is taken from a different spot and date and tested on different date and location as the results would not represent the sample location and time. If you do then be aware to note the results and anticipate error in the readings recorded.

Other Equipment for testing water quality includes but not limited to pH meter, Turbidity Meter. pH meter is for measuring the pH level of water  and also measure the temperature of water. Turbidity meter measures turbidity of water and also temperature and metal conductivity in the water. 

Turbidity is the measure of suspended particles of sediments flowing under or through the water. It could be steal water or running water.

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