Today lime and its derivatives are used in a broad spectrum of applications which have a major impact on our daily lives, such as;

Acid neutralisation, Agriculture, Construction, Effluent Treatment, Foodstuffs, Flue Gas Treatment, Paint, Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, Salt, Soil Treatment, Waste Water Treatment, Sugar, Drinking Water, Glass and Paper, Winemaking, Leather Tanning and Iron and Steel Industry.

Applications of lime products are widespread and diverse, they purify the water we drink, they help to clean the air we breathe and shape the environment that we live in. Hydrated lime or quicklime is mixed with water to give an alkaline slurry which neutralizes the low pH of acids.  Pre suspended lime can also be used to avoid the need for slurring equipment. Often insoluble calcium salt is precipitated during the reaction, this can help to remove impurities from the system. Quicklime is mixed with cement, sand or PFA, water and aluminium powder to give a slurry which rises and sets to form honeycomb structured blocks which have excellent thermal and sound insulation properties. The heat generated when quicklime reacts with water the alkaline conditions combined with aluminium powder generate hydrogen bubbles which cause the blocks to rise. The heat generated subsequently causes the slurry to set. The blocks are then heated in an autoclave, which promotes reactions between calcium and silicates in the sand or PFA and gives extra strength. Calcium Carbonate, quicklime and hydrated lime can be used to adjust the pH of soils to give optimum growing conditions and hence improve crop yields. The use of quicklime, hydrated lime and / or blends of these with Calcium Carbonate will help to speed pH adjustment which can help to treat conditions such as club root Quicklime is used as a flux in the smelting of copper, lead, zinc and other metals from their ores. The Quicklime reacts with silica, alumina and other impurities to form a molten slag, which can be removed. Slaked lime is used during the extraction of aluminium from bauxite. A wide number of organic and inorganic sludge's can be treated using burnt lime to increase solids content. Biological sludge (or Biosolids) can be hygienised by the raise in temperature and pH obtained by adding lime.  Biosolids Treatment up to US EPA class A is achievable with this method. Quicklime is mixed with cement, sand or PFA, water and aluminium powder to give a slurry which rises and sets to form honeycomb structured blocks which have excellent thermal and sound insulation properties. The heat generated when quicklime reacts with water causes the slurry to set and the alkaline conditions combined with aluminium powder generate hydrogen bubbles, which cause the blocks to rise.  The blocks are then heated in an autoclave, which promotes reactions between calcium and silicates in the sand or PFA and gives extra strength. Calcium Silicate Bricks are made by mixing quicklime or hydrated lime with silica sand. The bricks are pressed into shape and then heated in an autoclave, which promotes reactions between calcium and silicates in the sand and gives extra strength. Calcium Silicate Bricks are made by mixing hydrated lime and sand. The bricks are pressed into shape and then heated in an autoclave, which promotes reactions between calcium and silicates in the sand and gives extra strength. One of the main applications of lime and its derivatives is as a raw material in the manufacture of commonly used chemicals. The two main areas of usage of lime is the production of inorganic chemicals or oil additives. Inorganics Lime or its derivatives are essential building blocks in the manufacture of many inorganic salts such as Calcium Phosphate, a toothpaste additive, Calcium Citrate a food and drink additive and Calcium Nitrite an additive for sludge treatment. Oil Additives Hydrated lime is widely used in the production of oil additives for lubricants specifically sulphonates, phenates and salicylates. The oil additives are used as detergents and improve the life of engines in cars, ships, etc.   Contaminated land can be treated using lime and / or lime binder mixes to adjust pH and treat immobilize sulphates, phosphates and heavy metals. Quicklime will react with any free water present to form hydrated lime.  This removes the water from the system and can be useful when dealing with products that are heated during the manufacturing process. If water is not removed then there is a possibility of steam bubbles forming in the finished product, which can adversely affect its strength or appearance.  This is often used in PVC and rubber manufacturing processes. Flue gases and acid effluents containing oxidizing sulphates can be treated by introducing limestone, chalk, quicklime or hydrated lime as a powder or slurry, which promotes a reaction which forms insoluble calcium sulphate or gypsum which can then be collected. If carried out under the correct conditions this process can produce a saleable gypsum co-product. Hydrated lime and or milk of lime is used to remove temporary hardness from drinking water and to adjust its pH for optimum purification conditions. precipitates out the heavy metals in the form of insoluble hydroxides. Many industrial processes utilize acids or acidic species as part of the manufacturing process, Stringent legislation has meant the acidic effluent has to be treated before it can be discharged. The common method is to treat the effluent on site in a treatment plant where lime plays a crucial part in the neutralization of the acidic species. Lime has the additional benefit of removing the toxic heavy metals present as an insoluble salt which is removed by filtration. Lime is relatively safe to use and handle compared to other alkalis. Being a natural product, the product costs are low and does not suffer the large fluctuations of selling prices as per other alkalis. Hydrated lime or quicklime can be used to adjust pH of water systems to give an optimum environment. Quicklime can also be used in pest control, such as starfish and parasites. In Flue Gas Treatment, hydrated lime is sprayed into the flue stack in the form of a dry powder or a suspension in water. This enables reaction with any pollutants (gases such as hydrochloric or sulphuric acids or heavy metals) to form insoluble salts. The spent sorbent is then removed in large filter units before cleaned gases are emitted to the atmosphere. On larger sites, quicklime can be slaked in situ to produce a hydrated lime suspension. Hydrated Lime is utilized in fruit stores to aid the capture of Carbon Dioxide emitted from the ripening fruit. This keeps the fruit fresh for longer periods. The continuing demand for power has resulted in an increase in the burning of fossil fuels. Many such fuels contain sulphur and the resultant emissions into the atmosphere are the principal cause of acid rain. Other sources of acid rain can be incinerators whether they burn municipal or industrial waste, clinical waste, animal carcasses or natural fuels. Almost all incinerators around the world have utilized lime as a means of removing harmful gases for many years and proved lime to be cost effective, efficient and sustainable. Lime is sprayed into the flue stack in the form of a dry powder or as a suspension in water. It then reacts with the pollutants to form an insoluble salt which is easy to dispose of. In the case of desulphurization it is possible to produce a quality gypsum (calcium sulphate) which can be used as a raw material in plaster or plasterboard. Hydrated lime helps to de-hair and "plump" hides before the tanning process is completed. Our soluble bag technology helps to reduce the effort associated with dosing lime into the washing drums. Hydrated lime gives extra plasticity to Mortar, enabling it to flex more than normal sand and cement mortars. This means less mortar cracking and makes bricks easier to recycle. Lime wash is a traditional method of painting walls which provides a color base which allows the masonry to breathe and sanitizes the surface. Many Historic Buildings use lime wash wall colors. Lime Putty has been used in construction for many centuries. It reduces the absorption of water by other walling materials and allows the wall to breathe. It gives plasticity to the mortar and helps it to penetrate into fine crevices, forming a strong even bond and ensuring joints of excellent tensile and compressive strength. Lime Putty gives extra plasticity to Mortar, enabling it to flex more than normal sand and cement mortars. This means less mortar cracking and makes bricks easier to recycle. The best quality lime putty is made by slaking quicklime - see our Building Conservation page for more info. This method of building is widely used for Historic Building Conservation and is becoming ever more popular in modern applications. Hydrated lime or quicklime is mixed with water to give an alkaline slurry which raises the pH (neutralizes) of acids.  Pre suspended lime can also be used to avoid the need for slurring equipment. Often an insoluble calcium salt is precipitated during the reaction, this can help to remove impurities from the system By using the lime cycle, we can increase the purity and consequently the brightness of a calcium carbonate by calcining, hydrating and then re-carbonating back to calcium carbonate. This process is used to make fillers and coating products which are used within the paper industry. The caustic properties of hydrated lime are utilized in the sulphate process during the manufacture of paper and pulp. Quicklime will react with any free water present to form hydrated lime. This removes the water from the system and can be useful when dealing with products that are heated during the manufacturing process. If water is not removed then there is a possibility of steam bubbles forming in the finished product, which can adversely affect its strength or appearance.  This is often used in PVC and rubber manufacturing processes. By using the lime cycle, we can increase the purity and consequently the brightness of a calcium carbonate by calcining, hydrating and then re-carbonating back to calcium carbonate. This process is used to make fillers and coating products which are used within the paper industry. Lime Putty has been used in construction for many centuries. It reduces the absorption of water by other walling materials and allows the wall to breathe. It gives plasticity to the mortar and helps it to penetrate into fine crevices, forming a strong even bond and ensuring joints of excellent tensile and compressive strength. Lime Putty gives extra plasticity to Mortar, enabling it to flex more than normal sand and cement mortars. This means less mortar cracking and makes bricks easier to recycle. The best quality lime putty is made by slaking quicklime - This method of building is widely used for Historic Building Conservation and is becoming ever more popular in modern applications. A wide number of organic and inorganic sludge's can be treated using quicklime to increase solids content. Biological sludge can be hygienised by the raise in temperature and pH obtained by adding lime.  Biosolids Treatment up to US EPA class A is achievable with this method. Although widely known as Soil Stabilization, there are a number of distinct processes which can be carried out by the addition of quicklime to waterlogged, clay bearing or contaminated land. Improvement is the first process step, which is the drying out of water bearing material by the heat generating reaction with quicklime, this also converts some of the free water to hydrated lime. Using this process, it is possible to convert an unworkable site into a solid working platform within a short time. Calcium carbonate is added to iron sinter in order to aid slag formation and remove impurities from the iron. Lime can be added to BOS or Electric Arc steelmaking processes, and aids in the removal of impurities. Sugar manufacturers use lime in order to precipitate out impurities from beet and sugar cane extracts. Lime is also used to neutralize the odors which are generated by beet washing and transport. Hydrated lime is used to remove temporary hardness from drinking water and to adjust its pH for optimum purification conditions. Hydrated lime suspensions or milk of lime is used to neutralize and coat wire after it is acid cleaned. This acts as a slip agent to reduce friction during the drawing process and helps protect the wire during storage.