Quicklime

Description

Another name for calcium oxide. Quicklime is prepared by calcining limestone in a kiln at about 500 C. Quicklime is a white amorphous powder. It may contain small amounts of silica, iron, magnesium, and/or aluminum oxides. Oyster shells have been used to make a very pure quicklime. Once water is added, quicklime becomes slaked lime.

See also lime.

Synonyms and Related Terms

chaux vive (Fr.); cal viva (Port.); calcium oxide; lime; caustic lime

Density	3.2

Authority

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

• R. Mayer, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Viking Press, New York, 1981

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 453

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996