Unlike natural magnesium silicates like talc, forsterite, and olivine which are crystalline, synthetic magnesium silicates are amorphous. Synthetic magnesium silicates are insoluble in water or alcohol The particles are usually porous, and the BET surface area can range from less than 100 m2/g to several hundred m2/g. The very large active surface makes synthetic magnesium silicate useful for a wide variety of applications: purifying adsorbent (polyols, animal and vegetable oils, chromatography, dry cleaning, sugar, resins, odors; filler (rubber, ceramics, paper, glass, refractories); anti-caking agent (salt); catalyst; catalyst carrier; filter medium.