Lime’s Myriad Uses
Lime is the versatile mineral. Various forms of lime are used in environmental, metallurgical, construction, and chemical/industrial applications, and more. The fastest growing use of lime is in environmental applications, where lime is used to comply with air, drinking water, wastewater, and solid waste regulations.
However, the largest single use of lime remains steel manufacturing, where it is used to remove impurities. In construction, the dominant use of lime is in soil stabilization for roads, earthen dams, airfields, and building foundations. Lime can be combined with certain additives to produce other metals and is also a key ingredient in mortar and plaster in lime slurry form. As an additive in asphalt, lime improves its cohesion, reduces stripping, and retards the aging process. There are additional chemical and industrial uses of lime, such as manufacturing chemicals and production of precipitated calcium carbonate, described below in this area of the website.