Rice U. lab leads hunt for new zeolites

Database details 2.7 million possible structures for molecular sieves

		IMAGE: Zeolites are a fine lattice, a molecular sieve that can let molecules of a certain size pass while blocking others. Click here for more information.

In all the world, there are about 200 types of zeolite, a compound of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that gives civilization such things as laundry detergent, kitty litter and gasoline. But thanks to computations by Rice University professor Michael Deem and his colleagues, it appears there are -- or could be -- more types of zeolites than once thought.