Zeolite '93, the 4th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties, and Utilization of Natural Zeolites will be held in Boise, Idaho, June 20-28, 1993. The Conference will be sponsored by the International Committee on Natural Zeolites and the State University of New York, College at Brockport. Between 200 and 250 participants are expected from more than 30 countries. Zeolite '93 will bring together geologists, mineralogists, surface chemists, crystallographers, mining engineers, sanitary engineers, agricultural engineers, petroleum engineers, chemical engineers, agronomists, horticulturalists, animal scientists, aquaculturalists, and marketing specialists to discuss the latest scientific findings and activities in the growing field of natural zeolites. The Conference will comprise four days of technical sessions, a mid-week, all-participant field excursion to a major zeolite deposit in southwestern Idaho, and a three-day, post- conference optional field trip to important zeolite deposits in eastern Oregon. Invited symposia will be held each morning on the most significant areas of zeolite research, followed by afternoon poster presentations of all submitted papers, unopposed by other technical activities. Zeolite '93 will treat all scientific and technological aspect of natural zeolites--their diagenesis in volcanogenic sedimentary formations, their occurrence in pore spaces in petroleum reservoirs, their basic crystal structure and mineralogical character, and their structure-controlled ion-exchange, adsorption, hydration-dehydration, and catalytic properties. The basic science behind many of the recently developed applications for these materials will be discussed, including their use as slow-release carriers of nitrogen for plant growth; as dietary supplements in animal nutrition; as filters of ammonium from potable water and municipal, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters; as demineralizes for radioactive cesium and strontium in nuclear effluents and spills; as barriers in nuclear-waste containment; as exchangers to remove lead, cadmium, and copper from drinking water, industrial effluents, and mining and milling wastes; as ammonia sorbents for pet litters and feedlot manures; as deodorizers in refrigerators and medical facilities; and as substrate in soilless agriculture, so-called zeoponics.
