Diatomaceous Earth

Alternate Names: Diatomite

Oxide	Analysis	Formula
CaO	1.00%	0.36
Al2O3	5.00%	1.00
SiO2	87.00%	29.53
Fe2O3	1.00%	0.13
LOI	6.00%	n/a
Oxide Weight		1,917.60
Formula Weight		2,040.00

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.

Related Information

Links

URLs	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomite Diatomite at Wikipedia
Hazards	Diatomaceous Earth Toxicology
Typecodes	Generic Material Generic materials are those with no brand name. Normally they are theoretical, the chemistry portrays what a specimen would be if it had no contamination. Generic materials are helpful in educational situations where students need to study material theory (later they graduate to dealing with real world materials). They are also helpful where the chemistry of an actual material is not known. Often the accuracy of calculations is sufficient using generic materials.
Typecodes	Clay Other Clays that are not kaolins, ball clays or bentonites. For example, stoneware clays are mixtures of all of the above plus quartz, feldspar, mica and other minerals. There are also many clays that have high plasticity like bentonite but are much different mineralogically.
Materials	Fuller's Earth

By Tony Hansen
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