What is lime?

Lime is one of the most important raw materials of human activity. The use of lime mortar dates back over 14,000 years. In the meantime, the importance of lime has steadily increased. Its beneficial and unique properties have extended the use of lime in a multitude of applications.

Although in English, the word lime is common with the citrus fruit by the same name, it is in most languages derived from the Latin “calx”, like kalk, calce, chaux, cal, kalko.

The word "lime"is a generic term and is used in a variety of ways. In the broadest sense lime refers to natural limestone rock deposits of calcium carbonate: limestone, marble and chalk, and dolomite stone of a similar nature. More specifically, the term "lime" is used today to refer to the high quality products like quicklime, dolime and calcium hydroxide, also known as hydrated lime.

Lime-Glossary