Lime

Lime and its little-known applications

Lime is a chameleon material that comes into our everyday life without our knowing it. Its different technical characteristics provide a response to a wide variety of issues.

Did you know, for example, that if you drink clear water that comes out of your tap, it is partly thanks to the action of milk of lime? The latter removes organic matter and metallic traces from drinking water to ensure its purity. It softens or remineralizes water.

Did you also know that without lime you should drink your coffee without sugar? This is because lime acts as a clarifying agent for sugar cane juice during the production of white sugar. It is also used to wash the sugar cane and to treat the resulting wastewater.

Do you like reading your newspaper for breakfast? Note that lime is involved in the manufacture of paper where it plays the role of mineral filler and pigment (coating).

The leather industry is a fan of this material because tanning requires the use of lime and lime-based products.

The incineration of waste as well as many industrial processes generate gaseous effluents. These fumes often contain polluting substances as well as heavy metals. Here again, lime plays a key role in preserving air quality. Indeed, quicklime and hydrated lime are very effective chemical species for capturing these pollutants. When mixed with other compounds, they can also absorb micropollutants.