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Lime – A Natural but Unknown Part of Our Everyday Life

Without us always being aware of it, carbonate minerals like limestone and dolomite form the foundation for much of the world around us. Many things we take for granted in our daily lives simply wouldn’t work without lime.

For thousands of years, lime has contributed to humanity's development and will undoubtedly remain essential for our society to function in the future.

Essential in Our Daily Life

Lime products are an effective tool for influencing and reducing the negative impact on our environment.

Lime is needed to purify the water we drink and the air from harmful exhaust gases. It is also essential for enriching the soils we cultivate and preventing our waterways from becoming acidic. In some form, lime is also found in or around many of the foods we consume.

Crucial for Infrastructure

Lime is also an important ingredient in a functioning infrastructure. Our roads are paved with asphalt where lime is used as a filling material and as an adhesive to bind bitumen to the ballast material.

Lime-based stabilization materials are also used for soil stabilization, enabling the construction of houses and roads even in challenging ground conditions. The construction industry uses lime products in cement and concrete, as well as for the production of materials like roofing felt.

Lime for the Steel, Paper, and Mining Industries

In industry, steel manufacturers use lime as a fluxing agent to remove impurities from the melt. Lime and dolomite are also used to protect steel from oxidation.

Lime, or mesa, is also required in the paper industry to recycle chemicals necessary for the process. Both combined heat and power plants and industries also use lime products for flue gas cleaning. By neutralizing and precipitating pollutants with lime-based products, flue gases are cleaned of sulfur, chlorine, and fluorine before they leave the chimney.

For the environment

Lake Liming

Lakes are limed to restore a natural pH level and prevent acidification damage to plant and animal life. Thanks to liming, most species can quickly regain normal population levels and spread out in waterways that were previously acidified.
For the environment

Air Purification

Combined heat and power plants and industries use lime products for flue gas cleaning. By neutralizing and precipitating pollutants with lime-based products, flue gases are purified from sulfur, chlorine, and fluorine before leaving the chimney.
in our homes

Water Purification

In water treatment, lime is used as a pH enhancer to adjust water hardness, but also to minimize the presence of harmful humus substances, particles, and metals in drinking water.
in our homes

Packaging

In packaging production, lime is used in the pulp to provide filling, reduce transparency, and create a smooth and print-friendly surface
in our homes

Food

Cereal grains and vegetables thrive best in soil with the right pH balance. Lime reduces acidity, resulting in more nutritious food. Lime is also used to purify the juice extracted from sugar beets.
industry

Steel Industry

In steel production, lime is required to remove impurities and to form the slag that protects the steel from oxidation. Dolomite is also needed to protect the refractory lining in the steel furnace, converter, or ladle.
industry

Paper & Pulp

The paper and pulp industry requires large amounts of burnt lime in its sulfate processes, where lime plays an important role in the chemical recycling cycle. Lime is also used for cleaning the paper mill’s water and flue gases.
industry

Mining Industry

Lime products have a key role throughout the mining production cycle. The mining industry needs lime for pH regulation as well as for stabilization, drainage, filling, and filtration. Modern mining requires both limestone and burnt and slaked lime.
infrastructure

Roads

Roads, parking lots, and other flat surfaces are paved with asphalt, where lime is used as a filling material and as an adhesive to bind bitumen to the ballast material. Lime-based materials are also used for soil stabilization when constructing roads in challenging ground conditions.
infrastructure

Bridges & Tunnels

Lime is an important component in conventional concrete used for bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure construction. Lime offers many benefits; it has a naturally lubricating and vibration-dampening effect and rarely reacts negatively with other substances.
infrastructure

Construction

The construction industry uses limestone and slaked lime in cement and concrete, which are used for elements such as building components and house foundations. Lime is used to increase paste volume as well as to improve the workability of concrete. Finely ground lime is one of the ingredients in the production of roofing felt.
agriculture

Soil Improvement

Agricultural land is enriched with lime to balance acidic fallout and improve soil properties. The right lime balance also makes it easier to work the soil and enhances the land’s ability to absorb water and the phosphorus needed for crops to grow.
agriculture

Animal Feed

Animals require calcium for the development of their skeletons, for nerve function, and for the production of milk and eggs. Lime is therefore a natural part of animal feed to meet the nutritional needs of animals.
SMA Mineral

SMA Mineral AB
Box 329
682 27 Filipstad
SWEDEN

+46 590 - 164 00
sma@smamineral.se

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