Diatomite ni ubwoko bw'urutare rwa siliceous, ruboneka cyane cyane mu Bushinwa, muri Leta Zunze Ubumwe za Amerika, mu Buyapani, muri Danemark, mu Bufaransa, muri Rumaniya no mu bindi bihugu. Ni urutare rwa siliceous sedimentary rukomoka ku binyabuzima, rugizwe ahanini n'ibisigazwa bya diatom za kera. Imiterere yarwo ahanini ni SiO2, ishobora kugaragazwa nka SiO2 · nH2O, kandi imiterere yarwo y'amabuye y'agaciro ni opal n'ubwoko bwarwo. Imiterere ya diatomite mu Bushinwa ni toni miliyoni 320, kandi ingano y'umutungo iteganijwe ni toni zirenga miliyari 2.

Ubucucike bwa diatomite ni 1.9-2.3g/cm3, ubucucike bw'umubyimba ni 0.34-0.65g/cm3, ubuso bwihariye ni 40-65 ㎡/g, naho ingano y'umuyoboro ni 0.45-0.98m³/g. Amazi akura inshuro 2-4 z'ingano yayo, naho aho ashongesha ni 1650C-1750 ℃. Imiterere yihariye y'umuyoboro ishobora kugaragara hifashishijwe mikorosikopi ya elegitoroniki.

Diatomite igizwe na SiO2 idahinduka kandi irimo Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, Al2O3 n'imyanda y'ibinyabuzima. Diatomite ubusanzwe ni umuhondo woroshye cyangwa imvi yoroshye, yoroshye, ifite imyenge kandi yoroheje. Ikunze gukoreshwa mu nganda nk'ibikoresho byo gukingira ubushyuhe, ibikoresho byo kuyungurura, ibyuzuza, ibikoresho byo kwangirika, ibikoresho fatizo by'ikirahure cy'amazi, ibikoresho byo gukuraho ibara, ubufasha mu kuyungurura diatomite, ibikoresho bitwara kataloge, nibindi. Igice cy'ingenzi cya diatomite karemano ni SiO2. Diatomite nziza ni umweru, kandi ingano ya SiO2 ikunze kurenga 70%. Diatomite za monomer ntizigira ibara kandi zirabagirana. Ibara rya diatomite riterwa n'imyunyu ngugu y'ibumba n'ibintu by'umwimerere, nibindi. Imiterere ya diatomite ikomoka ku bintu bitandukanye by'ubutare iratandukanye.

Diatomite ni ubwoko bw'ibisigazwa by'ubutaka bw'ibimera bya diatom byiyongera nyuma y'urupfu rw'ikimera gifite akaremangingo kamwe kitwa diatom nyuma y'igihe cy'imyaka iri hagati ya 10000 na 20000. Diatom ni imwe muri protozoa za kera cyane ku isi, ziba mu mazi y'inyanja cyangwa mu mazi y'ikiyaga.

Iyi diatomite ikorwa no gushyira ibisigazwa bya diatom y’ibimera byo mu mazi ifite akaremangingo kamwe. Umusaruro wihariye w’iyi diatom ni uko ishobora kwinjiza silikoni mu mazi kugira ngo ikore igishishwa cyayo. Iyo ubuzima bwayo burangiye, izashyira kandi igakora ibisigazwa bya diatomite mu bihe bimwe na bimwe by’ubutaka. Ifite imiterere yihariye, nko gutobora, gupima bike, ubuso bunini bwihariye, kudakomera no kudahindagurika kwa shimi. Nyuma yo guhindura ingano y’uduce n’imiterere y’ubuso bw’ubutaka busanzwe binyuze mu gusya, gutondeka, gukaranga, gushyira mu byiciro ikirere, gukuraho umwanda n’ubundi buryo bwo gutunganya, ishobora gukoreshwa ku bintu bitandukanye bikenewe mu nganda nko kongeramo irangi.