Calcination is an industrial process that uses high temperatures to change the properties of solid materials such as minerals, metals, and ore. It is used to remove impurities, improve conductivity, and remove water. The process is used in various industries, and can involve materials other than calcium. Examples include clay, waste metal products, and petroleum coke. Calcination is also used to produce alumina, which has various uses, such as in the manufacture of electrical and electronic products and synthetic gemstones.
Calcination, also called calcination, is an industrial process that uses very high temperatures, often between 1,400-1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (800-1,000 degrees Celsius) or higher, to change the physical and chemical properties of various solid materials, such as minerals, metals and ore. The origin of the term derives from one of the oldest and most common calcination processes: transforming limestone, also known as calcium carbonate, into lime or calcium oxide. This process is commonly used to remove volatile substances in a material, to improve its electrical conductivity, or to remove water or certain impurities. The process is used in various industrial settings, for example in oil refineries, some recycling plants, and is also part of the pulping process when making kraft paper products. Processing plants fueled by oil or gas are commonly used to achieve the high temperatures required for calcination and these plants are usually called furnaces, reactors or kilns.
Originally, the word calcination was used to refer to processes involving calcium, such as when limestone is turned into lime. However, the term is also used to describe similar processes, using similar temperatures and equipment not involving calcium. For example, clay can undergo calcination, even if there is no calcium in the material. Clay treated in this way is anhydrous, meaning it contains no water. This can be used as an abrasive or in different types of coatings.
Some recycling plants use liming to recycle waste metal products, such as grindings, polishing slurries, and muds. It can also be used to transform petroleum coke, a byproduct of petroleum distillation that contains a large amount of carbon, into a much purer form of carbon. This calcined petroleum coke can be used for various purposes, for example to produce carbon anodes used in aluminum production.
Various forms of aluminum hydroxide can also undergo calcination, being heated to temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,100 degrees Celsius). This is done to remove crystalline water from the material, turning it into an alumina, or aluminum oxide, which has other properties and uses than aluminum hydroxide. Calcined alumina is produced in various grades and for various purposes, such as for use in the manufacture of electrical and electronic products and to produce synthetic gemstones used for different types of lasers. The process is also used to remove water in bauxite, producing calcined bauxite which can be used to make aluminum oxide.
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