- Email: [email protected]
Zeolite ’06
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 105 (2007) 211 www.elsevier.com/locate/micromeso
Editorial
Zeolite ’06
This issue of Microporous and Mesoporous Materials comprises selected contributions from the 7th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization of Natural Zeolites (Zeolite ’06). The conference, organized under the auspices of the International Natural Zeolite Association (INZA), was held 16–21 July, 2006, on the campus of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Previous conferences in the series (under the auspices of the International Committee on Natural Zeolites, ICNZ) were held in 1976 (Tucson, Arizona, USA), 1985 (Budapest, Hungary), 1991 (Havana, Cuba), 1993 (Boise, Idaho, USA), 1997 (Ischia, Italy), and 2002 (Thessaloniki, Greece). Selected contributions from the 2002 meeting were published in Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 6, 1–3 (2003). The technical program of Zeolite ’06 included 12 invited lectures, 55 oral presentations, and 84 posters. The conference was attended by 141 scientists, practitioners, and students representing 30 countries. Twenty individuals participated in an optional 2.5-day post-conference field trip that included visits to major zeolite deposits of the southwestern United States. Since natural zeolites are formed by geologic processes and occur along with other minerals in mixed deposits, they do not display the purity of form and properties exhibited by synthetic zeolites. Natural zeolites are attractive mainly because of their wide geographical distribution and low cost: cents per kilogram versus the dollars or euros per kilogram typical of synthetic zeolites. The low cost of natural zeolites makes them especially attractive for applications where large quantities of material are required, and/or when resources are not available for higher purity synthetic materials. The papers in this volume reflect the breadth of investigations required to understand and exploit these low cost
1387-1811/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2007.08.034
materials: where do natural zeolites occur; how do they form; what are their properties; and how can their unique properties be utilized for industrial, agricultural, and environmental improvement purposes? Our hope is that Zeolite ’06 and these resulting manuscripts have made a major contribution to this understanding. The 8th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization of Natural Zeolites (Zeolite ’10) will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2010 and will be organized by Prof. Ognyan Petrov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Central Laboratory of Mineralogy and Crystallography. The editors of this special issue would like to thank the members of editor Zeolite ’06 Local Organizing Committee (G.S. Austin, J.M. Barker, W.X. Chavez, Jr., S. Chipera, S.E. Delap, V.W. Lueth, L. Majkowski-Taylor, P.A. Mills, and J. Sullivan), the International Scientific Board (T. Armbruster, D.L. Bish, P. Cappelletti, C. Colella, R.T. Cygan, A. Langella, P.J. Leggo, Z. Li, D. Ming, R. Pabalan, and D. Vaniman) and our sponsors (Biolite Inc., Coyote Cliff, LLC, Cycletrol Industries, GSA Resources, Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, St. Cloud Mining Company, Steelhead Specialty Minerals, Teague Mineral Products, and Zeotech Corporation) for making the conference a success and for making this special issue possible. Robert S. Bowman Chair of the Zeolite ’06 Organizing Committee Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA Tel.: +1 505 835 5992 E-mail address: [email protected]
Editorial
Zeolite ’06
This issue of Microporous and Mesoporous Materials comprises selected contributions from the 7th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization of Natural Zeolites (Zeolite ’06). The conference, organized under the auspices of the International Natural Zeolite Association (INZA), was held 16–21 July, 2006, on the campus of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Previous conferences in the series (under the auspices of the International Committee on Natural Zeolites, ICNZ) were held in 1976 (Tucson, Arizona, USA), 1985 (Budapest, Hungary), 1991 (Havana, Cuba), 1993 (Boise, Idaho, USA), 1997 (Ischia, Italy), and 2002 (Thessaloniki, Greece). Selected contributions from the 2002 meeting were published in Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 6, 1–3 (2003). The technical program of Zeolite ’06 included 12 invited lectures, 55 oral presentations, and 84 posters. The conference was attended by 141 scientists, practitioners, and students representing 30 countries. Twenty individuals participated in an optional 2.5-day post-conference field trip that included visits to major zeolite deposits of the southwestern United States. Since natural zeolites are formed by geologic processes and occur along with other minerals in mixed deposits, they do not display the purity of form and properties exhibited by synthetic zeolites. Natural zeolites are attractive mainly because of their wide geographical distribution and low cost: cents per kilogram versus the dollars or euros per kilogram typical of synthetic zeolites. The low cost of natural zeolites makes them especially attractive for applications where large quantities of material are required, and/or when resources are not available for higher purity synthetic materials. The papers in this volume reflect the breadth of investigations required to understand and exploit these low cost
1387-1811/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2007.08.034
materials: where do natural zeolites occur; how do they form; what are their properties; and how can their unique properties be utilized for industrial, agricultural, and environmental improvement purposes? Our hope is that Zeolite ’06 and these resulting manuscripts have made a major contribution to this understanding. The 8th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization of Natural Zeolites (Zeolite ’10) will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2010 and will be organized by Prof. Ognyan Petrov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Central Laboratory of Mineralogy and Crystallography. The editors of this special issue would like to thank the members of editor Zeolite ’06 Local Organizing Committee (G.S. Austin, J.M. Barker, W.X. Chavez, Jr., S. Chipera, S.E. Delap, V.W. Lueth, L. Majkowski-Taylor, P.A. Mills, and J. Sullivan), the International Scientific Board (T. Armbruster, D.L. Bish, P. Cappelletti, C. Colella, R.T. Cygan, A. Langella, P.J. Leggo, Z. Li, D. Ming, R. Pabalan, and D. Vaniman) and our sponsors (Biolite Inc., Coyote Cliff, LLC, Cycletrol Industries, GSA Resources, Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, St. Cloud Mining Company, Steelhead Specialty Minerals, Teague Mineral Products, and Zeotech Corporation) for making the conference a success and for making this special issue possible. Robert S. Bowman Chair of the Zeolite ’06 Organizing Committee Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA Tel.: +1 505 835 5992 E-mail address: [email protected]