China is rich in diatomite resources, which are mainly distributed in Jilin (54.8%), Zhejiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong and Inner Mongolia. However, high-quality soil is only concentrated in Changbai Mountain area, Jilin. Most of other deposits are grade III-IV soil with high impurity content, which can not be directly processed and utilized. There are 354 mining areas with proven reserves, with a total reserve of 385 million tons of ore and a prospective reserve of 2 billion tons, ranking second only to the United States in the world and first in Asia.

The application fields of diatomite include:

Filter aid: diatomite was used as filter aid in the 19th century. China's diatomite filter aid industry started in the 1970s. In recent years, diatomite filter aid has been widely used in various fields such as medicine, chemical industry, food and environmental protection. It plays an important role in improving product quality and has a good development trend.

Porous ceramics: also known as pore functional ceramics, it is a new type of ceramic material with three-dimensional network framework, which is prepared by adding binder and pore increasing agent to the aggregate, forming and special high-temperature sintering process. Using calcined diatomite as aggregate, diatomite porous ceramic membrane was prepared by tape casting method. By changing the hot pressing temperature (20-90 ℃) to adjust the thickness of ceramic membrane (0.6-1.3mm), the pore size distribution range of ceramic membrane can be 0.1-1.0 μ m. The porosity is 44% and the mechanical strength is up to 57MPa, which meets the pressure conditions used as filter membrane.

Adsorption material: the adsorption material prepared by the interface between diatomite and adsorbate is widely used in the field of environmental protection. It is made into wastewater treatment agent to remove various organic dye molecules, heavy metal ions, polluted oils, enzymes, landfill leachate and other organic waste water in the water body, improve the water quality, and adsorb and intercept flocculent particle pollutants in the water body; It can also be made into bactericide, deodorant and various coatings to remove gaseous organic pollutants, purify indoor and outdoor gases and reduce air haze.

Catalytic support: diatomite is a natural excellent support material. Loading the catalyst on the surface of diatomite and using the porosity and high specific surface area of diatomite can not only enhance the dispersion performance of the catalyst, but also expose more catalytic active center sites of the catalyst, increase the contact probability and area between active components and reactants, and improve the utilization efficiency of the catalyst.