Diatomite is a friable light-colored sedimentary rock that is mainly composed of the siliceous skeletal remains of diatoms. It is a very porous rock with a fine particle size and a low specific gravity. These properties make it useful as a filter media, an absorbent, and as a lightweight filler for rubber, paint, and plastics. When diatomite is crushed into a powder, it is usually called “diatomaceous earth,” or D.E.
Diatomite: Diatomite has a very small particle size, a high porosity, and is relatively inert. That makes it an excellent material for use as a filter. Much of the beer brewed in the United States is filtered through crushed diatomite, known as diatomaceous earth. When selecting diatomite for beer filtering, it is important to source the diatomite from a deposit that was formed in a freshwater environment – because the salty marine diatomite will ruin the beer! Diatomaceous earth is also used to filter wine, drinking water, syrup, honey, juice, swimming pool water, and much more.
