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Article: The many uses of diatomaceous earth.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Countryside & Small Stock Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Countryside Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Diatomaceous earth (DE) is an organic product mined in the west. It was formed from trillions of microscopic one-celled algae called diatoms, which wove tiny shells for themselves out of the silica they extracted from seawater.
As the diatoms died, these shells settled in deposits at the bottom of the ancient oceans. When these waters dried up and the seas receded, the deposits were fossilized and compressed into a soft, chalky rock which is surface mined and crushed into a powder looking much like flour.
DE particles are characterized by their irregular shapes, generally spiny structures and pitted surface area. They average only 5 to 20 microns in ...