Limestone paste?

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Hello! I am currently getting my supplies together for my first go at extraction, and have a question:

I cannot seem to locate my calcium hydroxide, but have this can of "limestone paste"... is that calcium hydroxide or is it calcium carbonate? Could it still be used as a basifying agent (in q21q21's TEK)? If not, is there something I can do to it to covert it to the CaOH? It was purchased from an asian grocery store, and is a pre-wetted white paste...!

Thanks in advance!

 

[littledante420]

Hey I went looking all over for it today and I found out some good info. look for Mrs wages pickling lime. heres what it looks like Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime, 16 oz (Pack of 6) - Walmart.com. Just recently some walmarts stopped carrying it but most grociery stores have it. Go check in the "spice" isle and it should be their for about $4 good luck man!

 

[Psychonaut In Orbit]

Hey I went looking all over for it today and I found out some good info. look for Mrs wages pickling lime. heres what it looks like Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime, 16 oz (Pack of 6) - Walmart.com. Just recently some walmarts stopped carrying it but most grociery stores have it. Go check in the "spice" isle and it should be their for about $4 good luck man!

I must second dante on the recommendation friend.... that pickling lime is good stuff and it's what I used for the current extraction I'm in the middle of right now.

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

OK, I will probably have to make a visit to the local groceries to locate some calcium hydroxide...

however, in my research on the matter I found this paper: http://www.agtgroup.cl/mining/doc/OverviewLimeSlakingProcess.pdf , which describes the lime-slaking process in brief. It is basically this: (Limestone) CaCO3 + HEAT ----->(Calcium Oxide) CaO + CO2
(Calcium Oxide) CaO + (Water) H2O----->Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)2 + HEAT

So, theoretically, I could produce my own Ca(OH)2 using this limestone paste... however, I don't know HOW reactive it would be (like, would there be potential dangers in doing so? Like fire or explosions or anything scary like that?) The procedure seems ridiculously simple...

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

I also just found this: http://www.shesimmers.com/2010/08/use-of-limestone-solution-in-thai.html , which states that the thai lime paste (what I have) IS in fact calcium hydroxide and describes the slaking process.... this is making me think that what I have IS Ca(OH)2 mixed with some water...!

http://www.fooddepotcorp.com/productimages/A/3807.jpg

EDIT: this is used in thai foods, and in betel chewing... prepared from burning shells and everything... so it's calcium hydroxide I think! But I can't seem to find any real non-circumstatial evidence and so am still nervous about using it...

EDIT AGAIN: boom, found it! Mesoamerican Miracle Megapost: Tortillas and Nixtamalization – Cooking Issues

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

ayy! I'm not gonna use it, will just find some pickling lime!!

 

[littledante420]

ayy! I'm not gonna use it, will just find some pickling lime!!

Good call! Compared to the price of MHRB $4 is minuscule. I feel its always best to eliminate unknowns from your list of variables.

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

So I couldn't locate any lime today, and will be checking out a hispanic market tomorrow.
So the question now is, would leaving the tek in the acidification stage for a day or two do anything adverse to the end result? Or perhaps be beneficial in some way?

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Yay for Hispanic markets! Had big bags of lime for 99cents each! Got a few!

 

[oldtripper]

Ahhh hispanic markets! I tried asian markets..no luck..what do the miexicans call it?

 

[Parshvik Chintan]

Ahhh hispanic markets! I tried asian markets..no luck..what do the miexicans call it

un limon