Lime and its products are versatile commodities with a wide range of application areas, including metallurgy, flue-gas desulfurization (FGD), environment protection, glass & ceramics, paper & cellulose industry, sugar production, refractories, construction, agriculture and others. Globally, the sectorial structure of lime consumption is predicated on a specific region, market conditions, environmental regulations, future scenarios of lime market development and a roster of other factors.
Lime: structure of the global consumption by application (in 2015)
It has also become a commonplace that lime is a low-value, bulky and abundant product which is not widely traded internationally. However, this, somewhat denigrating in relation to lime, picture does not tell the full story of this commodity. Actually, lime and its derivatives have a great potential for innovation and value-added applicability. Thus, Lhoist Group, a world leading lime producer, has long recognised this potential and has been developing a string of innovative high-tech lime-based products. For instance, its Sorbacal line features outstanding properties in environmental applications to remove various pollutants. Another great example of similar approach is Neutralac, the global Lhoist’s brand for products and services used in municipal/industrial waste and sludge treatment. This unique suspension of 45% calcium hydroxide, known as Neutralac SLS45, has been extensively used by different utility operators, manufacturing companies and other entities. Even the Royal Mint of Great Britain has become a Lhoist’s client in order to use Neutralac SLS45 for treating effluents of its production. In general, experts predict that one of the short-term trends in the global lime market will be the decrease in lime use for metallurgical applications and the increase in lime consumption for environment protection, which makes the products developed by Lhoist Group highly prospective.
More information on the world’s lime market is at hand in the insightful research study “Lime: 2017 World Market Review and Forecast to 2027”.