Hydrated Lime SDS vs Hydraulic Lime
Hydrated Lime or “Hydralime” as is often known is a well-known product in some specific industries. In construction and building sectors, this white powder is used frequently as an essential component in finishes and constructing structures. If you have ever heard of general-purpose cement, then you will know what we are talking about. It is one of the materials used because it improves the consistency and durability of renders and mortars.
Hydralime is not suitable for use without another ingredient, namely, Portland cement. Click here to find out more about this type of mineral. This is one of the most common types of basic ingredient cement used to create grout, stucco or concrete that is used when houses and buildings are built. When mixed with sand it becomes even more sturdy.
The Variety of Different Uses for Quicklime
It is a fine dry, and white powder that comes in big bags or sealed containers from various suppliers and is mixed with water and other additives to create a hard consistency which is then spread across surfaces used to hold bricks in place and even for grouting between tiles in kitchens and bathrooms.
It has a high calcium content as well as is often used in plant fertilizers as well and provides the soil with much nourishment. So, it is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The difference between these however can sometimes be missed mainly because there are different terms used for both Hydrated Lime and Hydraulic Lime. Although the similarity with the prefix gives an indication that they both work with water.
Other uses you may never have known about, besides the preparation of mortar in building and construction, include the production of glass, it is used for the manufacturing of high-grade metal, irons and steels, it is also used to make industrial use of white paint, and also to manufacture certain types of medicines, to name a few and others can be looked up here too: https://sciencestruck.com/quicklime-uses
Hydraulic Lime
The second type of mineral is created from a natural limestone that either naturally contains amorphous silica, or has been added to it. This material fuses with the quicklime to create a compound resembling cement. This is what makes this type of lime hydraulic otherwise it would be difficult to mix it with water and to set it.
Sometimes when the hydraulic lime is burned, it becomes slaked and needs to be quenched, so hydrated lime is added to it but in minimum amounts. When sold commercially, they are sold as both hydrated and hydraulic.
Depending on the country you live in, the hydrated lime SDS are not produced anymore, specifically in Canada and the USA. They are instead imported from European countries that extract and produce it. If it says HL on the packaging you know it contains lime, and if it states FL then it will also contain this but as a formulated end product and has stringent requirements when shipping as it is typically declared as a chemical compound. This is because of its exothermic reactive quality.
The pure versions are not hydraulic and are also known as none-HL or putty limes. These will not be able to set with water and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and may not be available from extensive suppliers.
So, if you’re in the store looking for the right product, you should know the terms they go by:
- Slaking – the process of adding just enough water to the quicklime powder to change it into a less reactive hydroxide from a high alkali oxide characteristic.
- Quicklime – when the raw lime is burned in a kiln and is highly reactive and high in alkalinity
- Non-Hydraulic – when it reabsorbs the carbon dioxide from the air upon setting and is also called air, pure or fat lime
- Hydraulic – when the end product has high reactive silica compounds that can be set by adding H20 (water)
- Putty – the thick paste that is formed by adding water to the powder and used in grouting or building sites as a filler or with cement
- Hydrated – when the fine white powder i.e. limes or any other, has been slaked (water added to it)
High Calcium – when the mineral contains over 95% of calcium content in it