The fineness of zeolite is crucial
[Reading time 2 min.]
Many zeolite products are advertised as ultrafine. Recently, I received a product advertised as "ultrafine" to review. It was intended for dogs. The grain size was 95 microns (micrometers = µm). This means that 50% of the product is coarser than 95 microns. We would definitely not call that ultrafine.
At STEINKRAFT Zeolite, it's important to us that every customer knows the quality criteria for zeolite and can make their own decisions and choose. It would also be great if they could judge the fineness for themselves by looking at the powder or feeling it between their fingers. (I'll make a video about this so you can clearly see how the grain sizes can be seen and felt.)
There are many zeolite products above and around 50 microns. It's important to note that in some mining areas, the raw material is sieved, and 50 microns are sold as a commodity. This quality is perfectly acceptable for industrial use. We do not recommend these grain sizes for optimizing animal feed. This zeolite is too coarse as a soil additive, unsuitable as a foliar fertilizer, far too coarse for face masks, dangerous for brushing teeth, and likely to settle in the manure pit and cause nothing but trouble.
How can you measure the grain size of rock flour and the like?
Cilas is the magic word. A fantastic measuring device that shows exactly what percentage of each grain size is present.
The fineness through the tribomechanical grinding process
The finer the grain size, the more effective the product is, so the less you need to use.
We decided on the fineness together with experts and took into account the recommendation of Prof. Hecht.
Now we have to say: Thank you very much and RiP. You have been a tremendous supporter and inspiration to us. And we're sure you still look after us.
Recommendations for grain sizes/particle sizes of zeolite
Zeolite, as a technological additive for feed optimization, must be fine enough to effectively adsorb contaminants and mix well and evenly with the feed. If it's too coarse, it's ineffective because it trickles down and doesn't mix well.
- For horses, our STEINKRAFT zeolite has an average grain size of 24 µm
- For humans , Prof. Hecht recommended 8 µm
- Zeolite and rock flour for liquid manure : 35 µm (this was researched at the Raumberg-Gumpenstein Institute). The rock flour is not supposed to sink, but rather float. And at 35 µm, it floats and adheres to the suspended matter.
- Zeolite and calcium as foliar fertilizer : <8 µm. The particles must be small enough to penetrate the stomata and stimulate the plant's metabolism. This fineness is also ideal for physical protection, as it penetrates the small crevices of the leaves where mildew and other pests thrive.
- For the litter box : Coarser granules are good for the litter box. It shouldn't create dust.
- Zeolite as a soil improver : Please don't add too much of it to the soil. It's of little or no use. Besides, you'll need a lot of this valuable material per hectare. The Academy's recommendation for soils is 100 µm. In that case, 300-400 kg per hectare is sufficient.
Our recommendation: Ask to see the grain size distribution! And if it says "ultrafine" somewhere, question the term. We recently saw another "ultrafine" product and measured it at the customer's request. It measured 70 µm. That's very coarse in our opinion.
We received another product from a customer for evaluation. It was along the lines of: "You know what you're talking about, can you tell me if this product is any good?" Then we got it on site and started researching and measuring. The product says 6-10 µg. We don't know this unit. The fact is: average grain size 100 microns. That's much larger than what's stated on the package.
Why is the grinding process so important when it comes to grain size?
So: why is the grinding process so important when talking about the fineness and grain size of zeolite?
Zeolite, which is ground to 8 µm using conventional ball mills, has been crushed for a long time to reach this grain size. It's essentially ground between balls for a long time. This abrasion is then easily absorbed by the zeolite. The crystal lattices are full of contaminants, which are detrimental in two ways: they contain substances that don't belong there and aren't natural and native to the material.
I think that was also one of the most vehement criticisms of zeolite: that the raw material was already so contaminated with heavy metals, due to the milling process.
Conclusion: The finer the zeolite, the more important it is that it is tribomechanically pulverized. There's no abrasion here because the particles grind each other down.
We are the manufacturers of zeolite products ourselves. We determine how finely and when, i.e., at what point, the grinding is carried out. Actually, we pulverize it. Using a special grinding process that pulverizes without metal abrasion. We call this method Air2Air Activation Technology. Or tribomechanical, as Mr. Lelas from Croatia calls his method.
