Diatomite is a kind of biogenic siliceous sedimentary rock, which is mainly composed of the remains of ancient diatoms. SiO2 in diatomite is different from SiO2 in other minerals and rocks in structure and composition. It is an amorphous opal mineral of organic origin, usually called diatom silica. In addition to water and SiO2, diatomite also contains a small amount of Fe, Al, CA, Mg, K, Na and other impurities. Besides diatom, the mineral composition is often accompanied by various clays, quartz, dolomite, etc.

Diatomaceous earth can be used in different industrial fields by grinding it into various fineness powders with a mill, which can play a great economic value. China is rich in diatomaceous earth resources, which are found in many provinces and autonomous regions, mainly distributed in the eastern and southwestern regions. Among them, Linqu in Shandong, Shengxian in Zhejiang, Changbai in Jilin, XUNDIAN in Yunnan, Panxi in Sichuan and other deposits are the most famous. More than 40 diatomite deposits (spots) have been found in China, and 13 have been developed. In addition to Zhejiang, Jilin, Yunnan and Sichuan, many promising deposits have also been found in Guangdong and other places.

The special structure of diatomite makes it have many special technical and physical properties, mainly including large porosity, strong adsorption, light weight, sound insulation, heat resistance, wear resistance and alkali reactivity. At the same time, diatomite is widely used in light industry, chemical industry, building materials, environmental protection, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and many other fields because of its large porosity, strong adsorption, small unit weight, high melting point, heat and sound insulation, stable chemical properties and other process characteristics. The specific application is that diatomite can be used as filler for paint, coating, plastic, rubber and modified asphalt to improve the performance of filled products. In the field of building materials industry, diatomite is used to produce insulation board, insulation brick, insulation pipe and microporous calcium silicate board insulation products.

In the field of environmental protection, diatomite is used to treat industrial wastewater and domestic sewage; In the field of petrochemical industry, diatomite can be used as a nickel catalyst for hydrogenation and a carrier for vanadium catalyst in the production of sulfuric acid. Diatomite is also used as raw material for processing fine abrasive, polishing agent, cleaning agent, gas chromatography carrier, detergent, cosmetics and explosive density regulator. China is rich in diatomite resources, which are widely used and have an excellent market prospect.