kieselguhr

Nitroglycerine, when absorbed in a porous earth called 'Kieselguhr', is called dynamite.

Kieselguhr, or simply guhr, absorbs twice its weight of nitroglycerine; cork charcoal absorbs nine times its weight.

Kieselguhr is a very powerful adsorbent, and only a little will do much good; it is, however, hardly sufficient alone.

The best substitute for "kieselguhr" is ashes of bog-head coal.

Generally a small percentage of the kieselguhr is replaced by a mixture containing sodium and ammonium carbonates, talc and ochre.