Industry Overview: Lime applications in Water Treatment
Lime is used extensively in the treatment of water systems drinking waters, process waters, and wastewaters. There are many benefits for the water treatment engineer in using lime products. Lime technology provides solutions to water treatment problems in a very cost effective manner. Lime treatment systems are inherently safe, and are environmentally friendly.
Drinking Waters: Lime is a cost effective reagent, and assists the
water engineer by:
Re-mineralizing excessively soft water. Water that is too soft will cause corrosion of the water distribution system. The addition of lime provides a safe solution to this problem. It provides protection to the distribution system, and prevents the water collecting excessive levels of dissolved metals, which can adversely affect taste and odor, on its way to the user.
Softens (de-carbonates) excessively hard water to prevent scaling of pipes. In this case, lime precipitates bicarbonate salts - the main scale forming minerals - providing water that will not scale the distribution system.
Organic matter and trace metals can also be successfully removed in the process of lime treatment
Process Waters: The industrial use of water in processes such as evaporative cooling, or steam raising, require water of high purity. Levels of hardness and alkalinity and iron that are acceptable for drinking supplies may need to be reduced by the industrial user. Lime provides a cost effective way to pre-treat many of the most difficult river and ground waters for industrial use.
Lime softening, using lime, or a combination of lime and soda-ash, can be effective in treating large volumes of process water to reduce hardness, turbidity, organic matter and dissolved metals to acceptable levels. (Insert picture of cooling tower)
Waste Waters: Lime is used extensively in the treatment of wastewater to correct acid pH levels and to precipitate metals. Refer to our section on Environmental uses of lime.
Water Treatment: Carmeuse Lime & Stone Technology and Products
High reactivity Quicklime and hydrated limes are available at all our locations for the treatment of water systems.
Bulk delivery of product to your storage facilities is available in all locations.
Milk of Lime is a most convenient way to receive lime. This ready-to-use lime slurry is supplied directly to your storage tanks, and eliminates the need for quicklime storage and slaking equipment. Carmeuse supplies high strength, high stability Milk of Lime, making the switch from quicklime or hydrated lime cost effective.
