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Product Description
quicklime (CaO), also called calcium oxide or lime, compound of one atom of calcium and one atom
of oxygen that is a white or grayish white solid produced in large quantities by roasting calcium carbonate so as to drive off carbon dioxide. At room temperature, CaO will spontaneously absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reversing the reaction. It will also absorb water, converting itself into calcium hydroxide and releasing heat. The bubbling that accompanies the reaction is the source of its name as "quick," or living, lime. The reaction of quicklime with water is sometimes used in portable heat sources.
One of the oldest known products of a chemical reaction, quicklime is used extensively as a building material. The origin of hydraulic cements goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. The materials used were lime and a volcanic ash that slowly reacted with it in the presence of water to form a hard mass. 
