Calcium Carbonates For Building Products: Requirements Of Specific Applications

If one considers that prehistoric man's first house may have been a limestone cave, calcium carbonate may be the most timeless of all building materials. Fanciful history aside, CaCO3 has been used for countless applications in human habitats. After all, tine marble block and tiles have always been the hallmark of eloquents and style. Mortars and cements derived from limestone have held together the very blocks of our civilization. In modem times, synthetic polymers are blended with ground limestone to produce everything from pipe, floor tile, cultured marble and house siding. All of these miracles of our technology contain CacO3 of various sizes and in varying amounts. This paper will discuss some of the critical attributes of CaCO3 which make it suitable for the new building products that have helped increase our standard of living. The vehicle of discussion will be a residential, single family house.