Quicklime (Calcium Oxide, Burnt Lime)

High-calcium burnt lime by CaO, reactivity and size: lump, pebble and powder

Quicklime under HS 2522.10 is limestone burnt in a shaft or rotary kiln until the carbon dioxide leaves and calcium oxide remains, and it is bought on three numbers. Lime content sets how much of the tonne does the work: building and industrial lime to EN 459-1 is classed CL 90, CL 80 or CL 70 by its combined calcium and magnesium oxide, so a CL 90-Q quicklime carries at least 90%. Reactivity is the second number, because a slaker, a lime silo on a leach circuit or a steel converter is tuned to how fast the lime reacts with water: EN 459-2 measures it as the time to a set temperature rise, and a CL 90-Q producer typically declares a T60 of 10–15 minutes, while ASTM C110 sets out the slaking-rate test used on North American and many mine contracts, and the rate has to match the slaking equipment. Size is the third: run-of-kiln lump for steelworks, pebble in a closed fraction for slakers and pneumatic handling, and ground powder for flue-gas desulphurisation, soil and chemical dosing. Residual CO₂ from an under-burnt core, silica, sulphur and MgO complete the certificate.

The buyer is a steel plant using lime as flux and for desulphurisation, a gold mine holding pH in a cyanide leach or carbon-in-leach circuit so that cyanide is not lost as hydrogen cyanide gas, a copper concentrator controlling pH in flotation, a power plant or smelter scrubbing sulphur dioxide, or a water utility softening and adjusting pH. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2522.10 total about USD 1.04 billion across reporters, led by Germany (USD 140 million, 685,000 MT) and France (USD 139 million, 694,000 MT), mostly into their neighbours; the seaborne Asian suppliers are Malaysia (USD 62 million, 587,000 MT), China (629,000 MT), Oman (USD 43.5 million, 444,000 MT) and Thailand (USD 30.9 million, 326,000 MT), with Türkiye at 46,000 MT and Egypt a small exporter. Viet Nam did not report for 2024, but World Bank WITS partner data show Vietnamese quicklime as a leading supplier into Indonesia and other Asian markets in 2023. Quicklime is a hazard at sea: the IMSBC Code lists LIME (UNSLAKED) as a Group B cargo because it combines with water to form hydrated lime and releases heat that can ignite combustibles nearby, so it is not handled during precipitation, non-working hatches stay closed and it is separated from other Group B cargoes. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers quicklime between kiln operators and trader allocations and steel, mining, power and water buyers against SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek analysis of CaO, MgO, SiO₂, S and CO₂, reactivity and sizing, with a certificate of origin and a safety data sheet. Most parcels move in 1 MT jumbo bags or 25–50 kg bags in containers or breakbulk; bulk lots go in dry holds with hatches closed. Price is agreed per MT on grade, reactivity and pack, FOB, CFR or CIF. Lime is not a CBAM good: the EU CBAM Annex I cement goods are clinker and hydraulic cements under CN 2523 and calcined clay under 2507, and 2522 is not listed. Send your CaO floor, reactivity, size, pack and monthly offtake and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

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Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.