Lime: Overview
The heavy industries that quietly depend on burnt limestone
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelmaking flux (basic oxygen and electric arc furnaces, ladle refining) | n/a | n/a basis | Lime combines with silica, phosphorus and sulfur to form slag that floats off molten steel. Fluxes should contain about six times more CaO than SiO2, and dolomitic lime adds MgO that protects furnace linings (Smil 2016). Lime reacts fast and is cheap, so every oxygen and arc furnace uses it. USGS MCS 2026, Lime; Smil (2016), Still the Iron Age | Raw limestone charged into sinter or pellets (Smil 2016) Magnesium oxide instead of dolomitic lime (USGS) |
| Chemical and industrial uses (fertiliser, glass, pulp and paper, precipitated calcium carbonate, sugar refining, lithium processing) | n/a | n/a basis | Lime is the cheapest strong alkali. Paper mills causticise green liquor with lime, sugar mills purify juice with it, and lithium refiners use it to remove impurities. Lithium is now Carmeuse's second-largest lime end market (Global Cement, 2026). USGS MCS 2026; Global Cement (Sep 2026) | Caustic soda and soda ash (more expensive alkalis) Magnesium hydroxide for pH control (USGS) |
| Flue-gas treatment (SO2 and acid-gas scrubbing at power plants, incinerators and industry) | n/a | n/a basis | Hydrated lime and quicklime absorb SO2, HCl and other acid gases. Lime reacts faster than limestone, so it suits dry and semi-dry scrubbers and smaller plants. USGS MCS 2026 | Limestone wet scrubbing (cheaper but slower, USGS) Sodium bicarbonate and trona |
| Construction (soil stabilisation, asphalt additive, mortar and plaster) | n/a | n/a basis | Lime dries and stabilises clay soils under roads, improves asphalt durability and makes workable mortar and plaster. USGS MCS 2026 | Cement, cement kiln dust, fly ash and lime kiln dust (USGS) Calcined gypsum for plasters (USGS) |
| Water and wastewater treatment | n/a | n/a basis | Lime softens water, adjusts pH, removes phosphorus and stabilises sewage sludge. It is cheap and safe to handle in powder or slurry form. USGS MCS 2026 | Caustic soda Magnesium hydroxide (USGS) |
| Nonferrous mining and metallurgy (copper, gold and uranium ore processing, alumina) | n/a | n/a basis | Mines add lime to control pH in flotation and cyanide leaching, and to neutralise acidic waste. Chile, a copper producer, took 7.1% of world lime import value in 2024 (Comtrade). USGS MCS 2026; Comtrade 2024 | Limestone for neutralisation (slower) Caustic soda |
From mine to user
- 1. Limestone and dolomite quarry High-calcium limestone or dolomite with low silica and sulfur. About 6% of US crushed stone (around 90 Mt) went to lime making in 2025 (USGS).
- 2. Crushing and sizing Stone is crushed and screened to suit the kiln; fines go to other uses.
- 3. Calcining in kilns Heating drives off CO2: CaCO3 to CaO. Chemistry sets about 1.8 t of limestone and 0.79 t of process CO2 per tonne of quicklime (100/56 and 44/56).
- 4. Hydration (optional) Quicklime is reacted with controlled water to make dry hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). The US had 70 quicklime plants and 11 hydrating plants in 2025 (USGS).
- 5. Bulk delivery Shipped by truck or rail in pneumatic tankers; lime is caustic and absorbs moisture, so it travels short distances. US trade is under 3% of output (USGS).
- 6. End use Steel mills, chemical plants, power plants, water works, mines and construction.
- 7. Regeneration Paper mills and some water plants re-burn spent lime sludge; USGS excludes this from production to avoid double counting.
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
Three things to know
- China produced about 310 million t of lime in 2025, roughly three-quarters of world output.
- US quicklime prices roughly doubled between 2021 and 2025, from $132.8 to about $260 per tonne.
- Five companies made about 80% of US lime in 2025.
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
No recent articles from the listed publishers were found in the snapshot.