Carbonatation precipitate – origin, separation and uses

Abstract

Managers and researchers are looking for new systems with minimum consumption of lime e.g. ultrafiltration. Nevertheless liming and carbonatation are still an important part of juice purification in the sugar industry. The complex process is influenced by many parameters such as lime addition, polysaccharides content and their composition, temperature, mixing intensity, recycling in juice purification etc. Carbonatation precipitate as well as the role of adsorbing nonsugars from the beet is connected with sedimentation and filtration characteristics and seems to be a promising raw material in many industries. Key parameters of the carbonatation lime as a by-product of sugar manufacture are size of crystals and aggregates together with polymorphism of the CaCO3 both for the filtration and for follow-up industrial applications. The common polymorph of carbonatation precipitate is calcite but also needle-like aragonite precipitates were found when deteriorated beet was processed. Carbonatation lime may be used as fertilizer, filler in adhesives or in plastics, and in many ecologic uses. It could be concluded that functional materials based on carbonatation lime is a challenging perspective, however, the extensive knowledge in carbonatation process is of primary importance.