Diatomaceous earth is a naturally-occurring sedimentary rock. It is made up of the fossils of diatoms which are a type of algae. DE is available in different grades, and one of these is called food grade. When we think about food, we all think about something to eat. So what is there about a chalky white substance made of algae fossils that would be edible?
Well, to be truthful, it isn’t precisely eatable. Some folks believe that it’s meant to be mixed with water and used to help somebody better absorb the nutrients in the food they eat. It can also be mixed with animal feed to cut manure odor and reduce the number of flies. Of course, the main use of this higher grade of DE is as a filtering agent for the water we drink.
Diatomaceous earth filteration was first used during WW2 when it was important to filter water for the soldiers. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development laboratories ( ERDL ) created a filter that was both transportable enough for army use and which cleaned the water and made it safe for human consumption. Following the war the material continued to be utilized in filters for swimming pools.
You might wonder exactly what else these microscopically-small sea creatures that contribute their skeletons to DE have to do with human consumption. As well as the filtering of water, this material is used to filter lager, wine, syrup, and sugar. However , 68% of the DE that is mined is used for water filtration. It is great for this reason, as it can trap particles which will run through other filtering mediums, for example paper and sand. Since both drinking water and the water in swimming pools is ingested by humans, keeping it as clean as possible is imperative.
We all need to be glad that somebody had the foresight to use DE in municipal water filtration. When we think about third world countries where folks ingest polluted drinking water and come down with critical diseases, we will be able to begin to understand what these filters do for us. DE is considered to be the grass of the sea, because it is eaten by sea creatures much as land animals eat grass. There is also as much of it available as there is grass, so it is a replenish-able resource that we don’t have to fret about using up.
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