Over-simplified (but gives the general idea) lime lecture.
The lime generally available would probably be dried slaked lime, which is relatively mildly caustic, and had preservative properties, it can slow down the decomposition of (for instance) a dead animal, and much reduce the smell given off in the process.
Less widely available, and much more dangerous, is quicklime, which is highly hygroscopic. This means that it absorbs water with enthusiasm, including the water in your person if you let the powder get on your skin. Breathing it in is even more dangerous!
Commercially quicklime is added to water (NEVER the other way around) to make lime putty, which is the basis of traditional mortar, for building, pointing and rendering on old buildings. Lime putty is slaked lime in a wet form; this can be dried without de-slaking it, which is the basis for the powder sold for so many purposes.
If you remember 'lime water' from the school biology lessons, that is the excess liquid left after slaking the quicklime.
The lime generally available would probably be dried slaked lime, which is relatively mildly caustic, and had preservative properties, it can slow down the decomposition of (for instance) a dead animal, and much reduce the smell given off in the process.
Less widely available, and much more dangerous, is quicklime, which is highly hygroscopic. This means that it absorbs water with enthusiasm, including the water in your person if you let the powder get on your skin. Breathing it in is even more dangerous!
Commercially quicklime is added to water (NEVER the other way around) to make lime putty, which is the basis of traditional mortar, for building, pointing and rendering on old buildings. Lime putty is slaked lime in a wet form; this can be dried without de-slaking it, which is the basis for the powder sold for so many purposes.
If you remember 'lime water' from the school biology lessons, that is the excess liquid left after slaking the quicklime.
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