Calcination

Calcination is the heating of a solid to cause thermal decomposition or another chemical change, usually below its melting point. It commonly removes volatile substances or converts a material into a more useful chemical form.

Thermal decomposition: A chemical reaction in which heat breaks a compound into simpler substances. Calcination often works by breaking a solid compound into simpler products.
Lime kiln: A furnace designed to convert limestone into quicklime by heating. It provides the high-temperature environment for industrial limestone calcination.
Endothermic process: A process that absorbs heat from its surroundings. Many calcination reactions require continuous heat input to proceed.
Carbon dioxide emissions: The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from natural or human activities. Carbonate calcination emits carbon dioxide from both the reaction and often its fuel.
Dehydration reaction: A chemical reaction that removes water from a substance. Heating hydrated solids can drive off water as part of calcination.
Cement kiln: An industrial furnace that heats raw materials to produce cement clinker. Cement manufacture includes calcining limestone before clinker formation.
Chemical equilibrium: A state in which forward and reverse chemical reaction rates are equal. Equilibrium helps explain how temperature and gas pressure affect decomposition.
Process emissions: Greenhouse-gas emissions produced by industrial chemical reactions rather than fuel combustion. Limestone decomposition releases carbon dioxide even when kiln heat is carbon-free.
Decarbonation: The removal of carbon dioxide from a material or chemical compound. Calcination of carbonates releases carbon dioxide and leaves an oxide.
Gypsum: A calcium sulfate mineral that loses water when heated to form plaster products. Heating gypsum removes bound water, a widely used calcination process.

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