Ambient-Pressure Synthesis of Highly Crystallized Zeolite NaA

Zeolites' great momentum in industrial applications will require an efficient route for their synthesis. The conventional methods for zeolite synthesis normally involve expensive reactor setups, where the crystallization occurs at high-pressure conditions. Herein, we proposed an ambient-pressure synthesis (APS) of the NaA zeolite at 120 degrees C. The reaction setup simply used a glass tube as a reactor and a low-density liquid as a sealant. The optimum synthesis conditions were obtained by using a methylcellulose template and the polyethylene glycol-400 sealant. Compared with that of the conventional hydrothermal process, the barrier of the sealant over the zeolite gel in the glass tube can significantly reduce the synthesis cost, and it also makes the process much safer than the conventional methods.