Hydrated lime is also called calcium hydroxide and it is a sterile, colorless, very clear powder processed in a method called slaking by treating calcium oxide also known as quick lime with water. Hydrated lime is also used in the manufacture of mortars, plasters, cement, paints, hard rubber products, petrochemicals, and leather tanning products, known as slack lime, lime builders, or pickling lime. Lime is an inorganic compound containing calcium, where oxides and hydroxides are common. Two different forms of lime, such as hydrated lime and quicklime, are often present. In dry powder form, hydrated lime, which is less caustic compared to quicklime, is available. It is produced during the production process, also known as slaking, by hydrating or adding water.
Hydrated lime is a calcium compound and calcium is referred to as calcium hydroxide in its hydrated state. The effect of adding water to powdered quick lime is to simplify hydrated lime, placing it in a burner or oven and then pulverizing it with water. The resulting lime is called calcium hydroxide and has a density of about 35lb / ft3.
In terms of operations, lime is used as a soil conditioner for pH balancing in farmlands in the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, operations for the processing and recovery of metals from minerals, and in the production of cement, coal residues, plaster, and other concrete additives.
Various applications, end-use industries, and regions can be grouped into the Hydrated Lime industry. The global hydrated lime market can, as mentioned below, be classified on the basis of applications:
- Water Treatment and Purification.
- Materials for Building
- Processing and Metallurgy of Minerals
- Steel pelletization
- Agent for whitening
The Global Hydrated Lime market is categorized on the basis of the end-use industry, as described below:
- The Business of Mining
- Construction Industry
- The Business of Paper
- Chemical Aspects
- Gas & Oil
Mining operations include the processing of pure-metal mineral ores to produce slurry effluents that are emitted from water supplies. These water supplies need effective water purification, which in turn creates growth opportunities for manufacturers of hydrated lime due to the use of hydrated lime as a mixture for processes of treating wastewater.
In addition, a rise in coal mining and coal production in the Asian market is expected to result in an increase in demand for hydrated lime at the regional level. With a mature growth rate, it is expected that the hydrated lime market will rise. China and India are both big hydrated lime consumers.