4A SUPERSIV® Powder

In layman’s terms, Zeolite is a specific form of rock, that has lots of tiny pores within it. This makes it ideal for use as an absorbent. Think of it as being a ‘sponge’ made from a hard mineral material, and you’ve got the idea.

The word “Zeolite” comes from the Greek words Zeo (meaning: ‘to boil’) and Lithos (meaning: ‘rock’). This name was used because saturated Zeolite rock, when heated generates steam, and to the 18th Century geologist who discovered this property, the term “Boiling Rock” seemed appropriate.

Originally, Zeolite was only found in the natural environment, but in 1954 new industrial processes allowed it to be manufactured artificially. Man-made Zeolites (of which 4A SUPERIV Powder is but one), can have the advantage of higher absorption performance and also a decreased probability of pore-blockage – which means that they are more long-lived as an absorbent. Furthermore, in the modern age, Synthetic Zeolites can be said to be more environmentally friendly, as they do not require strip-mines, which are destructive to the natural environment. In addition, they can also be made from other industrial waste products, such as fly ash, and in such circumstances, these zeolites can lay claim to be recycled materials.[1]

Due to its absorbent properties, typical zeolite uses include:

1. Use as an industrial desiccant (drying agent), such as 4A SUPERSIV Powder. In this scenario, it removes water from Polyurethane, Polyurea and Polyaspartic polymer systems, which improves polymer quality and appearance.
2. Use as an ecological clean-up material. In this application, it can be used to soak-up radioactive and other toxic waste.
3. Use as water softener. Here the Zeolite donates its cations such as Na (Sodium) and/or K (Potassium), and then absorbs hard water minerals, such as Ca (calcium) and Mg (Magnesium). This ionic exchange softens the water.
4. Use as an industrial catalyst, in the petrochemical industry.

Although 4A SUPERSIV has largely been replaced by 3A SUPERSIV in most modern Polyurethane, Polyurea and Polyaspartic systems, the one remaining benefit of 4A SUPERSIV Zeolite is its price. This price difference is because one has to make 4A Zeolite, in order to use it as a feedstock for the production of 3A Zeolite. 4A SUPERSIV Zeolite thus benefits from having one less industrial process and is cheaper to produce. Consequently, many formulators, looking for low-price raw materials in Developing World markets, prefer 4A SUPERSIV to 3A SUPERSIV, because they believe that it offers them a cost advantage.

Whether this advantage is still measurable in higher specification polymer products is debatable, as many modern chemists find that they can use less 3A SUPERSIV than 4A SUPERSIV per kilo of finished formula, and thus the initial purchase price advantage of the raw material is somewhat eroded.

Baltimore Innovations is one of the leading names in the desiccant industry, and both our advice and our products are sought out and used by many high-profile multinational companies; everyone from Formula-1 Race Teams to rocket companies and electric vehicle manufacturers, led by eccentric billionaires. During the Covid Pandemic, we helped manufacturers of Covid Test kits, stabilise and improve the efficacy of their home test diagnostic kits against tight deadlines, and we supply well-known Pharmaceutical companies to protect their pills. We even help well-known fast-food retailers keep their burgers from going soggy!

So, with all this breadth of knowledge, full ISO 9001 certification, worldwide shipping, and a team that has over 80 years of experience in advising customers on how best to use desiccants – you really should consider using Baltimore! As our customers like to tell us: “Baltimore Innovations are the Experts, that the Experts like to use”.

• In French, 4A Zeolite Powder is called: “4A Tamis Moleculaire”.
• In German, it is called: ” 4A Zeolith Molekularsieb”.
• In Italian, it is called: “4A Setacci Molecolari”.
• In Polish, it is called: ” 4A Sita Molekularne”.
• In Portuguese, it is called: ” 4A Peneira Molecular”.
• In Spanish, it is called: ” 4ATamiz Molecular”.
• In Swedish, it is called: ” 4A Molekylsikt”.
• In Turkish, it is called “4A Zeolit Nem Tutucu”.