Method for totally converting impure kaolin materials into amorphous substances for the industrial manufacture of zeolites and/or ecological fertilizers

The detergents industry and the hydrocarbons industry are the main users of synthetic zeolites. In detergents zeolites have the same function as phosphates by removing calcium (Zeolite "A") and magnesium (Zeolite "X") and neutralizing fatty and acid substances. To crystallize the zeolites in a short time (1-36 hours) and at low temperatures (normally below 100 degree C) it is necessary to start from a hydrated alkali aluminosilicate gel which is obtained by mixing and homogenizing alkali silicates and alkali aluminates. We have developed a method which can be used to convert all minerals present in natural kaolins, which, in most cases, are impure on account of the variable involvement of other minerals such as quartz, cristobalite, opel, K-felspar, plagioclase, micas, etc., into an alkali aluminosilicate gel directly through alkali attack at temperatures below 500 degree C. The synthetic zeolites required can then be obtained by the usual methods of crystallization.