# Lime

Burnt limestone: a cheap, reactive alkali that steelmakers, chemical plants, power stations and water works quietly depend on.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/

Construction · No. 82

- Not on a critical list
 Construction · Foundation · Matter

Burn limestone and you get lime, the quiet chemical that steel mills, water works and power stations cannot run without.

Chart: Illustration: Lime

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Lime is made, not mined: pure limestone is crushed and burned in kilns, which drives off CO2 and leaves quicklime. World output was 420 million t in 2025.

##### Three things to know

1. China produced about 310 million t of lime in 2025, roughly three-quarters of the world's 420 million t.
2. US quicklime prices nearly doubled between 2021 and 2025, from $132.8 to about $260 per tonne.
3. Burning limestone releases about 0.75-0.79 t of CO2 per tonne from the rock itself, before any kiln fuel.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Limestone**High-calcium limestone or dolomite
2. 2 **Quarry**Quarried and crushed
3. 3 **Kiln**Burned to quicklime, releasing CO2
4. 4 **Hydration**Optionally slaked to hydrated lime
5. 5 **Industry**Steel, scrubbers, water works, chemicals
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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/links/index.md)