Calcium Oxide

Calcium oxide, commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature.

Calcium Oxide can affect you when breathed in. * Contact can severely irritate and burn the eyes and skin. * Breathing Calcium Oxide can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath.

Interesting Facts

• Calcium oxide is often used to "lime" lake waters that have been acidified by acid rain. ...
• When calcium oxide is heated near its melting point, it gives off a brilliant white light.

Quicklime is produced by heating crushed limestone to around 1,100 degrees Celsius in a shaft furnace or rotary kiln. The heating of limestone releases carbon dioxide, leaving calcium oxide (CaCO3 produces CaO + CO2). After heating, the quicklime is crushed and then milled to the appropriate fraction