Lime (material)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name of the natural mineral (native lime) of the CaO composition which occurs as a product of coal seam fires and in altered limestone xenoliths in volcanic ejecta.[1] The word "lime" originates with its earliest use as building mortar and has the sense of "sticking or adhering."[2]
These materials are still used in large quantities as building and engineering materials (including limestone products, concrete and mortar) and as chemical feedstocks, among other uses. Lime industries and the use of many of the resulting products date from prehistoric periods in both the Old World and the New World. Lime is used extensively for waste water treatment with ferrous sulfate.
The rocks and minerals from which these materials are derived, typically limestone or chalk, are composed primarily of calcium carbonate. They may be cut, crushed or pulverized and chemically altered. "Burning" (calcination) converts them into the highly caustic material quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO) and, through subsequent addition of water, into the less caustic (but still strongly alkaline) slaked lime or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2), the process of which is called slaking of lime.
When the term is encountered in an agricultural context, it probably refers to agricultural lime. Otherwise it most commonly means slaked lime, as the more dangerous form is usually described more specifically as quicklime or burnt lime.
Lime production process
Limestone is extracted from quarries or mines. Part of the extracted stone, selected according to its chemical composition and granulometry, is calcinated at about 1000 °C in different types of lime kiln.
Quicklime is produced according to the reaction: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2.
Quicklime can be hydrated, i.e., combined with water. Hydrated lime, known as slaked lime, is produced according to the reaction: CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2.
See also
- Gypsum
- Hydraulic lime
- Lime plaster
- Lime mortar
- Lime wash
- Plastering
- Sascab: a building and paving material (Central America)
References
- J.A.H. Oates, Projet de. Lime and Limestone – Chemistry and Technology, Production and Uses. Wiley-VCH, ISBN 3-527-29527-5 (1998)
- US Geological Survey