Limestone

Limestone. . , Limestone has been used as a building material since the time of the Egyptians, or possibly even longer. The Ohio Statehouse was built between 1839 and 1861 in the Greek Revival style using limestone from the Columbus Limestone quarries near the Scioto River, now known as the Marble Cliff Quarry., Large pieces of limestone are used as "armor stone" for marine construction in seawalls and of course, crushed limestone is used widely for road construction and in concrete mixes., Limestone is used in steelmaking as a flux agent to help remove impurities from iron. Much of the early stone quarried from Marblehead was used in Lorain, Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh in the steelmaking industry. Quicklime , Limestone is calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), but if that compound is heated to around 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, the carbon dioxide is driven off leaving calcium oxide (CaO) known as lime or quicklime. Many kilns were built on the Marblehead Peninsula to produce quicklime., Ancient lime kilns were mere pits dug into the ground and filled with alternating layers of wood or coal fuel and crushed limestone. More sophisticated kilns were stone structures similar to large ovens., Quicklime was shipped in wooden barrels and used for agricultural soil conditioning and to reduce odors in mass burials during cholera outbreaks., Quicklime is used to make lime mortar and in making concrete. When water is added, the lime slowly pulls carbon dioxide from the air and again becomes calcium carbonate (limestone). Prior to the invention of portland cement in the 1870s, lime mortar was the standard for masonry construction., Quicklime is also used to make whitewash. This material was an early paint and was used extensively to preserve and beautify wooden and masonry structures. The stone of the Marblehead Lighthouse was whitewashed each year. Whitewash also has mild antimicrobial properties., Most of the glass that we use every day is called soda-lime glass. Lime is added to lower the melt temperature of the pure silica in glass. This reduces energy costs and makes the molten glass flow more easily as its molded., Powdered lime is used as a filler in paints, paper, ceramics and plastics.