Diatomite yog ib hom pob zeb siliceous, feem ntau faib rau hauv Suav teb, Tebchaws Meskas, Nyiv Pooj, Denmark, Fabkis, Romania thiab lwm lub tebchaws. Nws yog pob zeb sedimentary siliceous biogenic, feem ntau yog tsim los ntawm cov seem ntawm cov diatoms qub. Nws cov tshuaj lom neeg muaj pes tsawg leeg yog SiO2, uas tuaj yeem hais tawm ua SiO2 · nH2O, thiab nws cov khoom siv hauv av yog opal thiab nws cov ntau yam. Cov khoom khaws cia ntawm diatomite hauv Suav teb yog 320 lab tons, thiab cov khoom khaws cia yav tom ntej yog ntau dua 2 billion tons.

Qhov ceev ntawm diatomite yog 1.9-2.3g / cm3, qhov ceev ntawm cov khoom yog 0.34-0.65g / cm3, thaj chaw tshwj xeeb yog 40-65 ㎡ / g, thiab qhov ntim ntawm cov qhov yog 0.45-0.98m ³ / g. Kev nqus dej yog 2-4 npaug ntawm nws tus kheej ntim, thiab qhov chaw yaj yog 1650C-1750 ℃. Cov qauv tshwj xeeb porous tuaj yeem pom nyob rau hauv lub tshuab hluav taws xob microscope.

Diatomite muaj cov SiO2 uas tsis muaj zog thiab muaj me ntsis Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, Al2O3 thiab cov organic impurities. Diatomite feem ntau yog xim daj daj lossis xim grey daj, mos, muaj qhov thiab sib dua. Nws feem ntau siv rau hauv kev lag luam ua cov khoom siv rwb thaiv tsev thermal, cov khoom siv lim dej, cov khoom siv filler, cov khoom siv abrasive, cov khoom siv dej iav raw, tus neeg sawv cev decolorizing, diatomite lim dej pab, catalyst carrier, thiab lwm yam. Lub ntsiab tivthaiv ntawm diatomite ntuj yog SiO2. Cov diatomite zoo yog dawb, thiab cov ntsiab lus ntawm SiO2 feem ntau tshaj 70%. Monomer diatoms tsis muaj xim thiab pob tshab. Cov xim ntawm diatomite nyob ntawm cov av nplaum minerals thiab cov organic matter, thiab lwm yam. Cov khoom xyaw ntawm diatomite los ntawm ntau qhov chaw minerals sib txawv.

Diatomite yog ib hom av diatom uas tau tsim los tom qab kev tuag ntawm ib tsob nroj uas hu ua diatom tom qab lub sijhawm sib sau ua ke li 10000 txog 20000 xyoo. Diatom yog ib qho ntawm cov protozoa thaum ntxov tshaj plaws hauv ntiaj teb, nyob hauv dej hiav txwv lossis dej pas dej.

Cov diatomite no yog tsim los ntawm kev tso cov seem ntawm cov nroj tsuag hauv dej ib lub cell diatom. Qhov kev ua tau zoo tshwj xeeb ntawm cov diatom no yog tias nws tuaj yeem nqus cov silicon dawb hauv dej los tsim nws cov pob txha. Thaum nws lub neej tas, nws yuav tso thiab tsim cov diatomite deposits nyob rau hauv qee qhov xwm txheej geological. Nws muaj qee yam khoom tshwj xeeb, xws li porosity, qis concentration, thaj chaw loj tshwj xeeb, incompressibility thiab tshuaj lom neeg ruaj khov. Tom qab hloov pauv qhov loj me ntawm cov khoom me me thiab cov khoom nto ntawm cov av nyoos los ntawm kev sib tsoo, kev cais, calcination, kev faib tawm huab cua, kev tshem tawm cov khoom tsis huv thiab lwm yam txheej txheem ua tiav, nws tuaj yeem siv rau ntau yam kev xav tau kev lag luam xws li cov xim ntxiv.