Steel and iron are produced from ores, which are rocks that contain iron oxides. Many of these ores also contain a large amount of silicates. When lime is mixed with the ore and the mixture melted, these silicates combine with the lime, forming a liquid solution called slag. Slag is immiscible with molten iron, so the silicates can be removed from the iron by draining o the slag. Lime is also used in the production of other metals.
Lime is also an important material in the manufacture of chemicals.
Its major use here is in the production of calcium carbide, CaC 2 . Calcium carbide is manufactured by heating lime with coke. Acetylene is an important fuel for welding and is also a starting material for a range of organic compounds, including vinyl chloride, neoprene, and acrylonitrile, all of which are raw materials for polymers. Pollution control is a rapidly expanding consumer of lime. Lime is used in stack gas scrubbers to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants.