Bowie Chabazite
St. Cloud’s Bowie Chabazite (a zeolite mineral) is rarely occurring and unique among natural zeolites. It is characterized by its light weight, extremely high surface area, and high cation exchange capacity (CEC). Its chemical composition and affinity for radionuclides make it a proven and highly effective media for nuclear remediation applications, and its high surface area is valued in gas separation and specialty desiccant markets. End-use applications of St. Cloud’s Bowie Chabazite include hazardous waste cleanup of arsenic and thallium, radioactive waste control, personal hygiene products, and air and water filtration and purification. In addition, some cementitious products have been recently developed using our Bowie products.
The three major products currently sourced from Bowie are: AZUB from the upper bed of the Cholla Pit, which is used for specialty sorbent and cementitious products; AZLB-Ca from the lower bed of the Cholla pit, which is used for gas sorbents, cation exchange, and catalyst applications; and high sodium chabazite (AZLB-Na) from the Grace and State Land pits, which is used for gas sorbent, cation exchange, and catalyst applications.
Surface Area
AZLB-Ca 450 m²/g
AZLB-Na 550 m²/g
AZUB 350 m²/g
Bulk Density
42-44 lbs/ft³ (all products)
CEC
AZLB-Ca 2.2 -2.8 meq/g
AZLB-Na 2.5-3.0 meq/g
AZUB 1.8 meq/g
Major Markets & Applications
Environmental Remediation
Bowie Chabazite has several environmental remediation applications, including in nuclear cleanups and for heavy metals removal. St. Cloud’s Bowie Chabazite-based ion exchange products have been used to remove radioactive isotopes in nuclear reactor effluent during the cleanups at Fukushima, Oak Ridge, and the Savannah River. Bowie Chabazite was also used in the 3 Mile Island cleanup. Additionally, Bowie Chabazite can be used to remove heavy metals during water treatment.
Industrial Odor Control
Bowie Chabazite is used for odor control, the treatment of sour natural gas, and the removal of mercury from coal fired power plant flue gases.
Specialty Applications
Bowie Chabazite is a strong catalyst. As a result, St. Cloud is currently testing its effectiveness in the removal of NOx products and other catalytic applications.