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- heat-treating
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calcination
chemical process
calcination, the heating of solids to a high temperature for the purpose of removing volatile substances, oxidizing a portion of mass, or rendering them friable. Calcination, therefore, is sometimes considered a process of purification.
A typical example is the manufacture of lime from limestone. In this process the limestone is brought to a temperature high enough to expel the carbon dioxide, producing the lime in a highly friable or easily powdered condition. Calcination in special cases may be carried on in furnaces designed to exclude air, for which an inert gas may be substituted.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.
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