Description
Silica or silica sand.
Silica sand is a compound resulting from the combination of silica with oxygen. Its chemical composition is formed by one atom of silica and two atoms of oxygen, forming a very stable molecule: SiO₂.
This molecule is insoluble in water and is found in nature in the form of quartz. If the quartz is crystallized it is called Rock Crystal.
It belongs to the silicate class and to the trigonal crystalline system. This mineral is very rich in varieties, which can be grouped into Macrocrystalline, with crystals well visible to the naked eye, and Cryptocrystalline, formed by microscopic crystals.
MOST IMPORTANT USES:
The industrial uses of silica sand derive from its important physical and chemical properties, especially its hardness, chemical resistance, high melting point, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity and transparency.
Sands are used as a filter bed for water purification and potabilization (for the retention of very small floccules that are not separated by decantation) and because of their hardness they are used for the manufacture of lyes, industrial abrasives and sandblasting.
It is a very important raw material in the composition of detergent formulas, paints, concretes and special mortars, and is the basic raw material for obtaining silicon, as well as the basis for the manufacture of silica refractories and model sands, due to its high melting point.
Chemical analysis |
Composition |
SiO₂ |
98.5% |
Fe₂O₂O₃. |
0.054% |
Al₂O₃ |
0.406% |
Na₂O |
0.010% |
TiO₂ |
0.071% |
K₂O |
0.110% |
CaO |
0.010% |
Typical values. These do not represent a specification.
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