Silica

The mass fraction of SiO2 in the earth's crust is as high as 60%-65%. There are two types of SiO2, crystalline and amorphous, collectively referred to as silica.

Natural minerals of silica generally include the crystalline silica minerals quartz, vein quartz, powder quartz, and the amorphous mineral diatomaceous earth.

The silicon dioxide crystal structure is a continuous framework of SiO4 (silicon-oxygen tetrahedra), where each oxygen is shared between two tetrahedra, giving the overall chemical formula of SiO2.

Furthermore, silica includes not only natural minerals but also various synthetic products. Synthetic products are mainly silica (amorphous silica), including fumed silica (fumed silica) and precipitated silica (precipitated silica).

Silicate

The general term for compounds composed of elements such as silicon, oxygen, and metal elements. Most silicates are insoluble in water, and a few are soluble. The most common soluble silicate is: Na2SiO3, commonly known as water glass and sodium silicate.

Silicate composition means: active metal oxide - more active metal oxide - silicon dioxide - water. Kaolinite Al(Si2O5)(OH)4, forsterite Mg2SiO4, calcium zeolite Ca(Al2Si3O10) 3H2O, mica KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2, etc. all belong to silicate.

The three traditional silicate industries are: glass, ceramics, and cement.

Quartz

Silica in the earth's crust mainly exists in the form of minerals such as quartz (Quartz), and the distribution of quartz in the earth's crust is second only to feldspar, accounting for 12.6% of the weight of the earth's crust.

According to the shape, quartz is divided into three types: crystalline crystalline quartz, aphanitic quartz/microcrystalline quartz and amorphous quartz.