Zeolites
Volcanic minerals riddled with molecular-sized pores, used to absorb odours, ammonia, water and toxins in feed, litter and filters.
Industrial minerals · No. 73
- Not on a critical list
Volcanic ash, soaked in salty lakes, becomes a rock full of molecular cages that can soak up ammonia and smells.
Chart: Illustration: Zeolites
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Volcanic ash reacts with water in salty lakes or groundwater and crystallises into cage-like minerals. World output was about 1.3 million t in 2025.
Three things to know
- Animal feed took 42% of US natural zeolite sales by tonnage in 2025, well ahead of odour control at 15%.
- Slovakia led world output in 2025 at about 280,000 t, yet the top producer holds only about a fifth of the total.
- Two leading US firms reported 80 million t of reserves in 2022, enough for about 1,000 years of US output.
The journey
- 1 Volcanic ashAltered by water in saline lakes
- 2 Open pitBedded zeolitic tuff dug out
- 3 CrushingCrushed, dried and screened to size
- 4 ActivationOptional heating or surface treatment
- 5 ProductsFeed additive, pet litter, filters, soil