Limestone

Limestone deposit in the karst of Dinaric Alps near Sinj, Croatia.

Limestone is a common type of carbonate sedimentary rock. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years.

Extraction

Limestone can be identified by it's grayish color, it's reaction to acids, and it's conversion to quicklime in high heat.

To test using heat

1. Place a sample of stone into the middle of a fire.
2. Allow the stone to cool down, either by removing it from the fire or letting the fire die. Do not use water.
3. The stone is limestone if (1) it has lightened in color, to a white; (2) it fizzes and expands when placed in water

This test will create quicklime, and in water, slaked lime.

To test with acid

1. Drop a small amount of acid onto the stone sample.
2. The stone is likely limestone if a gas is produced.

Limestone can be crushed and collected from the earth.

Uses

Limestone is a vastly useful material. It can be used to create concrete, quicklime lighting, and is a valuable building material.

Dependencies

• Calcium
• Lime
• Water
  • Limestone

See also

• Brick
• Lime Concrete
• Lime Mortar
• Raw material
• Zeolite

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Limestone, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).

External links

• Lime, primitivetechnology.wordpress.com. 6 March 2018.
• Primitive Technology: Lime - Primitive Technology, 6 March 2018, YouTube