Abstract
Analcime is a common authigenic mineral in siliciclastic rocks and has widespread industrial applications in catalysis and ceramic production. Although its formation from volcanic glass has been extensively studied, the role of clay minerals and feldspar precursors in its genesis remains poorly constrained. This study investigates the hydrothermal formation of analcime and associated zeolites from arkosic sandstone of the Oligocene–Miocene Al Wajh Formation, northwest Saudi Arabia using Na2CO3 solutions (0.1 M and 0.5 M) at 80, 150, 200, and 250 °C for 336 h. The results indicate that analcime crystallized through the dissolution of feldspars, kaolinite, smectite, and illite, forming cubic to trapezohedral crystals. Mordenite and chabazite formed as minor zeolite phases at ≥ 200 °C, associated with higher silica activity and the breakdown of silica gel, smectite, and illite. Analcime precipitated as grain-coating, replacive, and pore-filling cement, with intercrystalline pores reaching up to 9.7 µm in size. The synthesised analcime may enhance the mechanical stability of the sandstone framework by reducing susceptibility to compaction. Furthermore, if exposed to acidic meteoric waters, dissolution of analcime could generate secondary intracrystalline porosity that could significantly improve the overall reservoir quality of the sandstone.
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Data availability
All data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request. Formal data requests may be directed to abdulwahab.bello@kfupm.edu.sa or ramadank@kfupm.edu.sa.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the generous support provided by the College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences (CPG), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, through the Centre for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR) (Grant Number: SF24004). The authors are immensely grateful to Mr Habeeb A. Al-Abbas and Mr Bandar D. Al-Otaibi for their assistance in preparing thin sections and running XRD analysis.
Funding
This study was funded by the College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences (Grant number: SF24004), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
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A.M. Bello: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Experiments, Formal Analysis, Sampling, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. A.M. Salisu: Data Curation, Experiments, Validation, Visualization, Writing—review & editing. A.O. Amao: Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing—review & editing. O.S. Alade: Experiments, Resources, Validation, Writing– review & editing. M. Mahmoud: Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing– review & editing. K. Al-Ramadan: Supervision, Resources, Funding Acquisition, Validation, Visualization, Writing—review & editing.
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Bello, A.M., Salisu, A.M., Amao, A.O. et al. Experimental crystallization of analcime zeolite from clay and feldspar precursors. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42250-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42250-3


