These materials are still used in large quantities as building and engineering materials (including limestone products, cement, concrete, and mortar), as chemical feedstocks, and for sugar refining, among other uses. Lime industries and the use of many of the resulting products date from prehistoric times in both the Old World and the New World.[citation needed] Lime is used extensively for wastewater 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) of calcium carbonate in a lime kiln above 900°C (1,650°F)[4] converts it into the highly caustic material burnt lime, unslaked lime or quicklime (calcium oxide) 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 usually refers to agricultural lime, which today is usually crushed limestone, not a product of a lime kiln. Otherwise it most commonly means slaked lime, as the more dangerous form is usually described more specifically as quicklime or burnt lime.
Limestone is extracted from quarries or mines. Part of the extracted stone, selected according to its chemical composition and optical granulometry, is calcinated at about 900°C (1,650°F) in lime kilns to produce quicklime according to the reaction:[6]
Before use, quicklime is hydrated, that is combined with water, called slaking, so hydrated lime is also known as slaked lime, and is produced according to the reaction:
Dry slaking is slaking quicklime with just enough water to hydrate the quicklime, but to keep it as a powder; it is referred to as hydrated lime. In wet slaking, a slight excess of water is added to hydrate the quicklime to a form referred to as lime putty.
Because lime has an adhesive property with bricks and stones, it is often used as a binding mortar in masonry works. It is also used in whitewashing as a wall-coat to allow the whitewash to adhere the wall.
Cycle
The lime cycle for high-calcium lime
The process by which limestone (calcium carbonate) is converted to quicklime by heating, then to slaked lime by hydration, and naturally reverts to calcium carbonate by carbonation is called the lime cycle.[7] The conditions and compounds present during each step of the lime cycle have a strong influence of the end product,[8] thus the complex and varied physical nature of lime products.
An example is when slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is mixed into a thick slurry with sand and water to form mortar for building purposes. When the masonry has been laid, the slaked lime in the mortar slowly begins to react with carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate (limestone) according to the reaction:
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O.
The carbon dioxide that takes part in this reaction is principally available in the air or dissolved in rainwater[9] so pure lime mortar will not recarbonate under water or inside a thick masonry wall.
The lime cycle for dolomitic and magnesium lime is not well understood[8] but more complex because the magnesium compounds also slake to periclase which slake more slowly than calcium oxide and when hydrated produce several other compounds. Thus, these limes contain inclusions of portlandite, brucite, magnesite, and other magnesium hydroxycarbonate compounds. These magnesium compounds have very limited, contradictory research which questions whether they "...may be significantly reactive with acid rain, which could lead to the formation of magnesium sulfate salts."[10] Magnesium sulfate salts may damage the mortar when they dry and recrystallize due to expansion of the crystals as they form, which is known as sulfate attack.
Building materials
Lime formed to piping bringing thermal water to Katlanovo spa, North Macedonia.
Lime used in building materials is broadly classified as "pure", "hydraulic", and "poor" lime;[11] can be natural or artificial; and may be further identified by its magnesium content such as dolomitic or magnesium lime. Uses include lime mortar, lime plaster, lime render, lime-ash floors, tabby concrete, whitewash, silicate mineral paint, and limestone blocks which may be of many types. The qualities of the many types of processed lime affect how they are used. The Romans used two types of lime mortar to make Roman concrete, which allowed them to revolutionize architecture, sometimes called the Concrete revolution.
Lime has many complex qualities as a building product including workability which includes cohesion, adhesion, air content, water content, crystal shape, board-life, spreadability, and flowability; bond strength; comprehensive strength; setting time; sand-carrying capacity; hydraulicity; free lime content; vapor permeability; flexibility; and resistance to sulfates. These qualities are affected by many factors during each step of manufacturing and installation, including the original ingredients of the source of lime; added ingredients before and during firing including inclusion of compounds from the fuel exhaust; firing temperature and duration; method of slaking including a hot mix (quicklime added to sand and water to make mortar), dry slaking and wet slaking; ratio of the mixture with aggregates and water; the sizes and types of aggregate; contaminants in the mixing water; workmanship; and rate of drying during curing.[12]
Pure lime is also known as rich, common, air, slaked, slack, pickling, hydrated, and high calcium lime. It consists primarily of calcium hydroxide which is derived by slaking quicklime (calcium oxide), and may contain up to 5% of other ingredients. Pure lime sets very slowly through contact with carbon dioxide in the air and moisture; it is not a hydraulic lime so it will not set under water. Pure lime is pure white and can be used for whitewash, plaster, and mortar. Pure lime is soluble in water containing carbonic acid, a natural, weak acid which is a solution of carbon dioxide in water and acid rain so it will slowly wash away, but this characteristic also produces autogenous or self-healing process where the dissolved lime can flow into cracks in the material and be redeposited, automatically repairing the crack.
Semi-hydraulic lime, also called partially hydraulic and grey lime, sets initially with water and then continues to set with air. This lime is similar to hydraulic lime but has less soluble silica (usually minimum 6%) and aluminates, and will set under water but will never harden.[13]
Hydraulic lime is also called water lime. Hydraulic lime contains lime with silica or alumina and sets with exposure to water and can set under water.[14]Natural hydraulic lime (NHL) is made from a limestone which naturally contains some clay. Artificial hydraulic lime is made by adding forms of silica or alumina such as clay to the limestone during firing, or by adding a pozzolana to pure lime.[13] Hydraulic limes are classified by their strength: feebly, moderately and eminently hydraulic lime. Feebly hydraulic lime contains 5-10% clay, slakes in minutes, and sets in about three weeks. It is used for less expensive work and in mild climates. Moderately hydraulic lime contains 11-20% clay, slakes in one to two hours, and sets in approximately one week. It is used for better quality work and exterior walls in freezing climates. Eminently hydraulic lime contains 21-30% clay, slakes very slowly, and sets in approximately a day. It is used in harsh environments such as damp locations and near saltwater. Hydraulic lime is off-white in color. "The degree of hydraulicity of mortars will affect many characteristics. By selecting an appropriate ratio of clay to limestone mortars that carbonate or set hydraulically to varying extents can be designed for particular application requirements such as setting time, strength, colour, durability, frost resistance, workability, speed of set in the presence of water, vapour permeability etc."[14]
Poor lime is also known as lean or meager lime. Poor lime sets and cures very slowly and has weak bonding. Poor lime is grey in color.
Magnesium lime contains more than 5% magnesium oxide (BS 6100) or 5-35% magnesium carbonate (ASTM C 59-91).[15]Dolomitic lime has a high magnesium content of 35-46% magnesium carbonate (ASTM C 59-91).[15] Dolomitic lime is named for the Dolomite Mountains in the Italian and Austrian Alps.[16]
In the United States the most commonly used masonry lime is Type S hydrated lime which is intended to be added to Portland cement to improve plasticity, water retention and other qualities. The S in type S stands for special which distinguishes it from Type N hydrated lime where the N stands for normal. The special attributes of Type S are its "...ability to develop high, early plasticity and higher water retentivity and by a limitation on its unhydrated oxide content."[17] The term Type S originated in 1946 in ASTM C 207 Hydrated Lime for Masonry Purposes. Type S lime is almost always dolomitic lime, hydrated under heat and pressure in an autoclave, and used in mortar, render, stucco, and plaster. Type S lime is not considered reliable as a pure binder in mortar due to high burning temperatures during production.
Kankar lime, a lime made from kankar which is a form of calcium carbonate.
Selenitic lime, also known as Scotts' cement after Henry Young Darracott Scott, is a cement of grey chalk or similar lime, such as in the Lias Group, with about 5% added gypsum plaster (calcined gypsum).[13]Selenite is a type of gypsum, but selenitic cement may be made using any form of sulfate or sulfuric acid.[18] Sulfate arrests slaking, causes the cement to set quickly and stronger.
The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic ash to create a pozzolanic reaction. When this was mixed with volcanic tuff and placed under seawater, the seawater hydrated the lime in an exothermic reaction that solidified the mixture.[19]
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or with sand and gravel, produces concrete. Concrete is the most widely used material in existence and is behind only water as the planet's most-consumed resource.
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th century by Joseph Aspdin, and is usually made from limestone. It is a fine powder, produced by heating limestone and clay minerals in a kiln to form clinker, grinding the clinker, and adding 2 to 3 percent of gypsum. Several types of portland cement are available. The most common, called ordinary portland cement (OPC), is grey, but white portland cement is also available. Its name is derived from its resemblance to portland stone which was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. It was named by Joseph Aspdin who obtained a patent for it in 1824. His son William Aspdin is regarded as the inventor of "modern" portland cement due to his developments in the 1840s.
Calcium oxide, commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term lime connotes calcium-containing inorganic compounds, in which carbonates, oxides, and hydroxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium, aluminium, and iron predominate. By contrast, quicklime specifically applies to the single compound calcium oxide. Calcium oxide that survives processing without reacting in building products, such as cement, is called free lime.
Sodium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils, and because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood, sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash". It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process, as well as by carbonating sodium hydroxide which is made using the Chlor-alkali process.
Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous, ferroalloy or non-ferrous/base metals. Within these general categories, slags can be further categorized by their precursor and processing conditions.
Calcium hydroxide (traditionally called slaked lime) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca(OH)2. It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is produced when quicklime (calcium oxide) is mixed with water. It has many names including hydrated lime, caustic lime, builders' lime, slaked lime, cal, and pickling lime. Calcium hydroxide is used in many applications, including food preparation, where it has been identified as E number E526. Limewater, also called milk of lime, is the common name for a saturated solution of calcium hydroxide.
Soda lime, a mixture of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium oxide (CaO), is used in granular form within recirculating breathing environments like general anesthesia and its breathing circuit, submarines, rebreathers, and hyperbaric chambers and underwater habitats. Its purpose is to eliminate carbon dioxide from breathing gases, preventing carbon dioxide retention and, eventually, carbon dioxide poisoning. The creation of soda lime involves treating slaked lime with a concentrated sodium hydroxide solution.
Agricultural lime, also called aglime, agricultural limestone, garden lime or liming, is a soil additive made from pulverized limestone or chalk. The primary active component is calcium carbonate. Additional chemicals vary depending on the mineral source and may include calcium oxide. Unlike the types of lime called quicklime and slaked lime, powdered limestone does not require lime burning in a lime kiln; it only requires milling. All of these types of lime are sometimes used as soil conditioners, with a common theme of providing a base to correct acidity, but lime for farm fields today is often crushed limestone. Historically, liming of farm fields in centuries past was often done with burnt lime; the difference is at least partially explained by the fact that affordable mass-production-scale fine milling of stone and ore relies on technologies developed since the mid-19th century.
Hydraulic lime (HL) is a general term for calcium oxide, a variety of lime also called quicklime, that sets by hydration. This contrasts with calcium hydroxide, also called slaked lime or air lime that is used to make lime mortar, the other common type of lime mortar, which sets by carbonation (re-absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air). Hydraulic lime provides a faster initial set and higher compressive strength than air lime, and hydraulic lime will set in more extreme conditions, including under water.
Lime mortar or torching is a masonry mortar composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, used in ancient Rome and Greece, when it largely replaced the clay and gypsum mortars common to ancient Egyptian construction.
Alite is an impure form of tricalcium silicate, Ca3SiO5, sometimes formulated as 3CaO·SiO2, typically with 3-4% of substituent oxides. It is the major, and characteristic, phase in Portland cement. The name was given by Törnebohm in 1897 to a crystal identified in microscopic investigation of Portland cement. Hatrurite is the name of a mineral that is substituted C3S.
Cement clinker is a solid material produced in the manufacture of portland cement as an intermediary product. Clinker occurs as lumps or nodules, usually 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in diameter. It is produced by sintering limestone and aluminosilicate materials such as clay during the cement kiln stage.
Calcium aluminate cements are cements consisting predominantly of hydraulic calcium aluminates. Alternative names are "aluminous cement", "high-alumina cement", and "Ciment fondu" in French. They are used in a number of small-scale, specialized applications.
An AFm phase is an "alumina, ferric oxide, monosubstituted" phase, or aluminate ferrite monosubstituted, or Al2O3, Fe2O3 mono, in cement chemist notation (CCN). AFm phases are important hydration products in the hydration of Portland cements and hydraulic cements.
The alkali–silica reaction (ASR), also commonly known as concrete cancer, is a deleterious internal swelling reaction that occurs over time in concrete between the highly alkaline cement paste and the reactive amorphous silica found in many common aggregates, given sufficient moisture.
A carbon dioxide scrubber is a piece of equipment that absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). It is used to treat exhaust gases from industrial plants or from exhaled air in life support systems such as rebreathers or in spacecraft, submersible craft or airtight chambers. Carbon dioxide scrubbers are also used in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. They have also been researched for carbon capture and storage as a means of combating climate change.
Roman concrete, also called opus caementicium, was used in construction in ancient Rome. Like its modern equivalent, Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement added to an aggregate.
Concrete degradation may have many different causes. Concrete is mostly damaged by the corrosion of reinforcement bars due to the carbonatation of hardened cement paste or chloride attack under wet conditions. Chemical damages are caused by the formation of expansive products produced by various chemical reactions, by aggressive chemical species present in groundwater and seawater, or by microorganisms. Other damaging processes can also involve calcium leaching by water infiltration and different physical phenomena initiating cracks formation and propagation. All these detrimental processes and damaging agents adversely affects the concrete mechanical strength and its durability.
The conservation and restoration of frescoes is the process of caring for and maintaining frescos, and includes documentation, examination, research, and treatment to insure their long-term viability, when desired.
↑ Pasero, Marco; etal. (May 2022). "The New IMA List of Minerals – A Work in Progress"(PDF). The New IMA List of Minerals. IMA – CNMNC (Commission on New Minerals Nomenclature and Classification). Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
↑ Smith, Percy Guillemard Llewellin. Notes on building construction: arranged to meet the requirements of the syllabus of the Science & Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington .... 2nd ed. London: Rivingtons, 1879. Print.
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