Diatomaceous Earth

Chemistry

CaO	1.000
Al2O3	5.000
SiO2	87.000
Fe2O3	1.000

Volatiles

LOI

6.000

Miscellaneous

Family: Clay Other
Region: None
Mined At: Unspecified
Raw Mineral: Yes
Generic: Yes

Notes

A marine sediment consisting primarily of the skeletons of diatoms (microscopic free-swimming algae that build their ornate 'silica houses' from SiO2 in sea water).

Deposits are located in California, Kenya, southern British Columbia, and elsewhere where there are uplifted marine sediments. Johns Manville has a large mine in Lompoc, California where ridges of hills expose large amounts of the the white, solid material. These deposits are rich in marine fossils on display at a local museum.

Diatomite, the raw parent material, is fairly soft. Diatomaceous earth is used as a refractory ingredient in bricks etc, as a mild abrasive, as an insulation in boilers and furnaces, and in filtering systems. The material is not not typically pulverized to a fine powder the way flint is.

Linked Articles

Diatomaceous Earth Toxicity by Edouard Bastarache
The hazards of using diatomaceous earth and amorphous silica in ceramics
Silice Amorphe, Terre de Diatomée
The hazards of using diatomaceous earth and amorphous silica in ceramics - French

URLs

Wikipedia Definition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomite

Suppliers

Generic

Authors

Tony Hansen (Owner)

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<material name="Diatomaceous Earth" descrip="" generic="1" rawmineral="1" searchkey="Diatomite" loi="6.00">
<families>
<family name="Clay Other"/>
</families>
<oxides>
<oxide symbol="CaO" name="Calcium Oxide, Calcia" status="" percent="1.000" tolerance=""/>
<oxide symbol="Al2O3" name="Aluminum Oxide, Alumina" status="" percent="5.000" tolerance=""/>
<oxide symbol="SiO2" name="Silicon Dioxide, Silica" status="" percent="87.000" tolerance=""/>
<oxide symbol="Fe2O3" name="Iron Oxide, Ferric Oxide" status="" percent="1.000" tolerance=""/>
</oxides>
<volatiles>
<volatile symbol="" name="" percent="6.000" tolerance=""/>
</volatiles>
<suppliers>
<supplier name="Generic" country="" url="" label=""/>
</suppliers>
<notes>
<note>A marine sediment consisting primarily of the skeletons of diatoms (microscopic free-swimming algae that build their ornate \'silica houses\' from SiO2 in sea water).

Deposits are located in California, Kenya, southern British Columbia, and elsewhere where there are uplifted marine sediments. Johns Manville has a large mine in Lompoc, California where ridges of hills expose large amounts of the the white, solid material. These deposits are rich in marine fossils on display at a local museum.

Diatomite, the raw parent material, is fairly soft. Diatomaceous earth is used as a refractory ingredient in bricks etc, as a mild abrasive, as an insulation in boilers and furnaces, and in filtering systems. The material is not not typically pulverized to a fine powder the way flint is.</note>
</notes>
</material>

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