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Using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Filtration to Decontaminate Drinking Water Resources

21st January, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Diatomaceous earth is a naturally-occurring sedimentary rock. It is made up of the fossils of diatoms which are a form 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 from algae fossils that would be edible?

Well, to be fair, it isn’t precisely eatable. Some folks believe that it’s intended to be mixed with water and used to help someone better absorb the nutrients in the food they eat. It may also be mixed with animal feed to cut dung odour and reduce the amount of flies. Naturally, 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 World War Two when it was important to filter water for the infantrymen. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development labs ( ERDL ) created a filter that was both portable enough for army use and which cleaned the water and made it safe for human consumption. Following the war the material continued to be employed in filters for swimming pools.

You may 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 purpose, because it can trap particles which will run thru other filtering mediums,eg 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 need to be glad that somebody had the foresight to use DE in municipal water filtration. When we think about 3rd world nations where people consume poisoned drinking water and come down with serious illnesses, we can begin to appreciate what these filters do for us. DE is considered to be the grass of the sea, because it is eaten by ocean creatures much as land animals eat grass. There is also as much of it available as there is grass, so it is a replaceable resource that we don’t have to fret about using up.
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