# Zeolites

Volcanic minerals riddled with molecular-sized pores, used to absorb odours, ammonia, water and toxins in feed, litter and filters.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/

Industrial minerals · No. 73

- Not on a critical list
 Industrial minerals · Foundation · Matter

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

1. Animal feed took 42% of US natural zeolite sales by tonnage in 2025, well ahead of odour control at 15%.
2. Slovakia led world output in 2025 at about 280,000 t, yet the top producer holds only about a fifth of the total.
3. Two leading US firms reported 80 million t of reserves in 2022, enough for about 1,000 years of US output.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Volcanic ash**Altered by water in saline lakes
2. 2 **Open pit**Bedded zeolitic tuff dug out
3. 3 **Crushing**Crushed, dried and screened to size
4. 4 **Activation**Optional heating or surface treatment
5. 5 **Products**Feed additive, pet litter, filters, soil
 Covered in [Soaps, detergents and agrochemicalsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/soaps-detergents-agrochemicals/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/links/index.md)