Water softening and purification are among the applications of zeolite
Aug 23, 2022
Any mineral belonging to the family of hydrated aluminosilicates that contains alkali and alkaline-earth metals is called zeolite. Zeolites are renowned for their reversible dehydration and lability toward ion-exchange. A framework structure surrounds cavities filled with water molecules and big metal cations (positively charged ions). Each oxygen atom is shared by two tetrahedra in the three-dimensional tetrahedral framework that is the fundamental structural component of Zeolite. The framework would be neutral if silicon made up all of the tetrahedra; however, when aluminium replaces silicon, a charge imbalance results, necessitating the presence of other metal ions in the framework’s comparatively large holes.