Slaked Lime

Find slaked lime for food preparation purposes, as well as industrial purposes such as water and sewage treatment. Search Alibaba.com for quick lime and slaked lime.

What Slaked Lime Is

Also known as calcium hydroxide lime, slaked lime is usually in a white crystal or powder form. Mixing calcium oxide with water produces slaked lime powder. A saturated solution of dry slaked lime is commonly known as limewater or milk of lime.

Use of Slaked Lime

Calcium hydroxide slaked lime is a key component in lime mortar. Lime mortar is used as a plaster and was invented by the ancient Egyptians. In addition to plastering their temples with calcium hydroxide hydrated lime, the Egyptians used it for their homes. In these modern times, the most common use for slaked lime quick lime is the preservation of buildings that were originally constructed with lime mortar.

Another popular use is slaked lime for whitewashing. In this application, a solution is made of the slaked lime. Calcium hydroxide will react with the carbon dioxide in the air and form a layer of calcium carbonate. After several days of treatment with the calcium carbonate slaked lime, the walls will gain a bright, glittering finish.

Quick lime slaked lime also is used in some food preparations. When used for this, the quick lime slaked lime must be food-grade quality. Traditional recipes for canning cucumbers to make pickles require the cucumbers to be soaked in slaked lime for cooking for 10 to 24 hours before canning. This important step is what gives the finished pickle products their desirable "crunch". For many thousands of years, Central Americans have used edible slaked lime to process corn. The raw kernels are soaked in water with a slaked lime paste, which makes the process of turning corn into flour an easier one. Also, slaked lime is used to help process a variety of different sugars. Sugar cane and sugar beets are refined in a process called carbonation, where the untreated sugar is combined with slaked lime.