Natural Zeolites: Understated Minerals with Remarkable Versatility

Zeolites commonly occur as microscopic crystals and are often overlooked. However, we benefit from these minerals in many unrecognized ways. Their distinctive crystal structures result in their ability to hydrate/dehydrate reversibly, to exchange cations with aqueous solutions, and to act as molecular sieves. These structure-related physicochemical properties make zeolites an important group of industrial minerals. In nature, they form as one of the first alteration products of continental and oceanic crust under low-temperature conditions. The distribution and occurrence of zeolites can provide important constraints on the spatial and temporal evolution of geological systems within the shallow crust.