Zeolite agglomeration process and product

A method of forming a zeolite agglomerate suitable for use as a granular detergent component, a detergent booster or a detergent by itself, comprising the steps of

• blending zeolite particles of about 1-20 micron size with a filler and a surfactant to form a zeolite blend, the filler being selected from the group consisting of alkali-metal chlorides, carbonates, perborates, sulfates, citrates, citric acid and mixtures of the foregoing with each other,
• charging the zeolite blend to a first agglomerator,
• spraying a zeolite binder selected from the group consisting of a polyacrylate, a silicate and combinations thereof, onto the zeolite blend in the first agglomerator with a composition entering the first agglomerator of about 5-70 parts of wgt. zeolite, about 10-94 parts by wgt. filler, about 1-20 parts by wgt. surfactant, an amount of the zeolite binder effective for agglomerating the zeolite blend and at most about 20 parts by wgt. water,
• drying the zeolite agglomerate from the first agglomerator to remove a portion of the water and to form the zeolite agglomerate having a particle size of about 0.15-1.7 mm. and a density of at least about 0.6 gm/cc. while being characterized by mechanical particle strength sufficient to resist substantial particle fracture and good solubilization/dispersion qualities in aqueous solution,
• charging the zeolite agglomerate and other detergent components to a second agglomerator to form a detergent composition,
• spraying the detergent composition with a detergent binder while agitating the detergent composition in the second agglomerator to produce a detergent agglomerate having a composition with at most about 20 parts by wgt. water added with the binder, and
• drying the detergent agglomerate to remove a portion of the water and form the detergent agglomerate to have a generally uniform particle size and density while being characterized by substantial freedom from segregation and dusting and exhibiting good solubilization and dispersion qualities in aqueous solution.