Calx, lim, or lime. Regardless what term you use, they all mean the same thing. Calcium Oxide is a widely-used chemical compound with the chemical symbol CaO. It is described as colorless and crystalline or white and shapeless. Other names for calcium oxide are quicklime and caustic lime.
Calcium oxide is produced through the heating of coral, limestone, chalk, or sea shells, all of which are calcium carbonates. This process expels carbon dioxide gas, leaving lime as the main product. Moreover, this particular process is reversible, meaning, lime reacts with carbon dioxide in order to produce calcium carbonate.
Sourcing out calcium oxide from limestone is among the oldest chemical processes done by man. The vast presence of limestone in the planet and its convenient way of producing calcium oxide from it is only one of the reasons why lime is considered as an ancient chemical product. Another reason is its being valuable. Since it has many uses, industries manufacture it in a large scale. In fact, the United States produced about 20 million metric tons of calcium oxide in the year 2000.
Calcium oxide’s reaction with carbon dioxide is at a slow rate in room temperature. However, the process can be sped up by mixing water with lime, producing calcium hydroxide or slaked lime. The reaction of carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide then is made faster, creating a quick-hardening mortar as an end product.
Calcium oxide is of great importance to the modern world. Almost half of its production is intended for use by the steel industry. This is because of the fact that lime has the ability to react with silicates to form solutions.
The manufacture of some metals also utilizes calcium oxide. Some chemicals are also produced using lime as an essential material. There are numerous industrial processes that involve the use of calcium oxide such as removal of phosphates in sewages, water supply pretreatment, pulping wood in the paper industry, and as coagulant in the sugar industry.
Calcium oxide can be harmful when inhaled, irritating the lungs, causing shortness of breath and coughing. Contact can lead to eye and skin irritations or burns. Being exposed for a long time may result to nose irritation which can later result to a porous bone, fragile nails, and breaks in the skin.
Lime even played a huge part in theatres. Why else, do you think, would they call limelight as such?
Calcium oxide is produced through the heating of coral, limestone, chalk, or sea shells, all of which are calcium carbonates. This process expels carbon dioxide gas, leaving lime as the main product. Moreover, this particular process is reversible, meaning, lime reacts with carbon dioxide in order to produce calcium carbonate.
Sourcing out calcium oxide from limestone is among the oldest chemical processes done by man. The vast presence of limestone in the planet and its convenient way of producing calcium oxide from it is only one of the reasons why lime is considered as an ancient chemical product. Another reason is its being valuable. Since it has many uses, industries manufacture it in a large scale. In fact, the United States produced about 20 million metric tons of calcium oxide in the year 2000.
Calcium oxide’s reaction with carbon dioxide is at a slow rate in room temperature. However, the process can be sped up by mixing water with lime, producing calcium hydroxide or slaked lime. The reaction of carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide then is made faster, creating a quick-hardening mortar as an end product.
Calcium oxide is of great importance to the modern world. Almost half of its production is intended for use by the steel industry. This is because of the fact that lime has the ability to react with silicates to form solutions.
The manufacture of some metals also utilizes calcium oxide. Some chemicals are also produced using lime as an essential material. There are numerous industrial processes that involve the use of calcium oxide such as removal of phosphates in sewages, water supply pretreatment, pulping wood in the paper industry, and as coagulant in the sugar industry.
Calcium oxide can be harmful when inhaled, irritating the lungs, causing shortness of breath and coughing. Contact can lead to eye and skin irritations or burns. Being exposed for a long time may result to nose irritation which can later result to a porous bone, fragile nails, and breaks in the skin.
Lime even played a huge part in theatres. Why else, do you think, would they call limelight as such?
