Synthesis of sodalite from natural kaolinite: A way to simulate the loss in weight of chlorine during the synthesis process by an analytical and mathematical modeling

Sodalite, [Na4(AlSiO4)3Cl]2, can be defined as a crystalline microporous material whose structure is characterized by a tetrahedral network displaying enclosing voids of at least 2.5 Å in diameter. The extreme similarity of sodalite with low silica zeolitic minerals (i.e., Na-X, Na-P, Na-A zeolites) justifies the great interest in sodalite synthesis processes, carried out at industrial scale not only to investigate the crystal structure of the mineral, but especially to explore its properties in environmental fields like waste water purification through cationic exchange processes, molecules absorption etc.