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Diatomaceous Earth
Chemistry
Chemistry available on new site, see link above
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 ceramicsSilice 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
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