Calcination-free production of calcium hydroxide at sub-boiling temperatures

Calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2)), a commodity chemical, finds use in diverse industries ranging from food, to environmental remediation and construction. However, the current thermal process of Ca(OH)(2) production via limestone calcination is energy- and CO2-intensive. Herein, we demonstrate a novel aqueous-phase calcination-free process to precipitate Ca(OH)(2) from saturated solutions at sub-boiling temperatures in three steps. First, calcium was extracted from an archetypal alkaline industrial waste, a steel slag, to produce an alkaline leachate. Second, the leachate was concentrated using reverse osmosis (RO) processing. This elevated the Ca-abundance in the leachate to a level approaching Ca(OH)(2) saturation at ambient temperature. Thereafter, Ca(OH)(2) was precipitated from the concentrated leachate by forcing a temperature excursion in excess of 65 degrees C while exploiting the retrograde solubility of Ca(OH)(2). This nature of temperature swing can be forced using low-grade waste heat (<= 100 degrees C) as is often available at power generation, and industrial facilities, or using solar thermal heat. Based on a detailed accounting of the mass and energy balances, this new process offers at least approximate to 65% lower CO2 emissions than incumbent methods of Ca(OH)(2), and potentially, cement production.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates a novel process to precipitate calcium hydroxide at sub-boiling temperatures from industrial waste, significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods.