CALCIUM SILICATE

CAS Number: 1344-95-2 
111811-33-7 (hydrate) 
12168-85-3 (calcium oxide) 
EC Number: 235-336-9
E number: E552 (acidity regulators)

APPLICATIONS

Calcium silicate is used as an anticaking agent in food preparation, including table salt and as an antacid. 
Also, Calcium silicate is approved by the United Nations' FAO and WHO bodies as a safe food additive in a large variety of products.
Calcium silicate has the E number reference E552.

Calcium silicate can be used as a precursor to synthesize several biomaterials. 
Examples for such applications include the preparation of biocompatible nanocomposites for bone tissue regeneration and the synthesis of sol-gel hybrid bioactive glasses.

Calcium silicate products are designed amongst others as back up insulating lining in a wide variety of refractory constructions. 
The material is lightweight insulating board with excellent insulation value, high mechanical strength and good heat resistance. 
Calcium silicate products are designed to withstand maximum temperatures up to 1100°C.
 
Dense calcium silicates are known for their high strength and thermal insulation properties. 
This makes them suitable in particular for highly loaded and load-bearing structural components.

Calcium silicate can be delivered either in plates or it can be die-cut into various shapes. 
We provide a wide range of high temperature solutions.

calcium silicate materials for high temperature insulation cover the complete range of low, medium and high density and compound insulation boards. 
They offer a very low thermal conductivity and excellent structural support, and are resistant to moisture and chemicals. 
Due to their minimal thermal shrinkage they have an extended service life without loss of performance.

The excellent structural integrity of our calcium silicates makes them easily machinable and even enables the machining of complex structures. 
Moreover, they are easy and safe to handle, install and maintain, and can be used for new constructions as well as retrofits.
Anticaking agents are substances added to food powders to prevent caking, lumping, or aggregation and to improve flowability. 
Anticaking agents function by different mechanisms in the presence of crystalline ingredients water absorption, water repellent and prevention of crystal-to-crystal contact.

The mechanism of calcium silicate is by water absorption. 
It is reported to absorb water at 2.5 times its weight to pull moisture away from the host ingredient. 
Calcium silicate has high water affinity. It traps water and retains it internally. 
It can also retain moisture during desorption, the release of one substance from another.

Properties of Calcium silicate insulation materials
-Very low thermal conductivity
-High thermal resistance and stability up to 1,100°C
-Non-combustible
-Impact resistant
-Low shrinkage
-Environmentally friendly and safe
-Easy to shape, handle, install and maintain
-Machinable
-Electrical insulation
-Resistant to moisture and chemicals

-High-temperature insulation

Calcium-silicate passive fire protection board being clad around steel structure in order to achieve a fire-resistance rating.
Calcium silicate is commonly used as a safe alternative to asbestos for high-temperature insulation materials. 
Industrial-grade piping and equipment insulation is often fabricated from calcium silicate. 

Its fabrication is a routine part of the curriculum for insulation apprentices. 
Calcium silicate competes in these realms against rockwool and proprietary insulation solids, such as perlite mixture and vermiculite bonded with sodium silicate. Although it is popularly considered an asbestos substitute, early uses of calcium silicate for insulation still made use of asbestos fibers.

-Passive fire protection
 
Other methods for exterior protection of electrical circuits include boards made of sodium silicate bonded and pressed vermiculite and flexible wraps made of ceramic fibre and rockwool.
Calcium silicate is used in passive fire protection and fireproofing as calcium silicate brick or in roof tiles. 

Calcium silicate is one of the most successful materials in fireproofing in Europe because of regulations and fire safety guidelines for commercial and residential building codes. 
Where North Americans use spray fireproofing plasters, Europeans are more likely to use cladding made of calcium silicate.
High-performance calcium-silicate boards retain their excellent dimensional stability even in damp and humid conditions and can be installed at an early stage in the construction program, before wet trades are completed and the building is weather-tight. 

For sub-standard products, silicone-treated sheets are available to fabricators to mitigate potential harm from high humidity or general presence of water. 
Fabricators and installers of calcium silicate in passive fire protection often also install firestops.

While the best possible reaction to fire classifications are A1 (construction applications) and A1Fl (flooring applications) respectively, both of which mean "non-combustible" according to EN 13501-1: 2007, as classified by a notified laboratory in Europe, some calcium-silicate boards only come with fire classification of A2 (limited combustibility) or even lower classifications (or no classification), if they are tested at all.

-Acid mine drainage remediation

Calcium silicate, also known as slag, is produced when molten iron is made from iron ore, silicon dioxide and calcium carbonate in a blast furnace. 
When this material is processed into a highly refined, re-purposed calcium silicate aggregate, it is used in the remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) on active and passive mine sites.
Calcium silicate neutralizes active acidity in AMD systems by removing free hydrogen ions from the bulk solution, thereby increasing pH. 
As its silicate anion captures H+ ions (raising the pH), it forms monosilicic acid (H4SiO4), a neutral solute. 
Monosilicic acid remains in the bulk solution to play other important roles in correcting the adverse effects of acidic conditions. 
As opposed to limestone (a popular remediation material),[9] calcium silicate effectively precipitates heavy metals and does not armor over, prolonging its effectiveness in AMD systems.

-As a product of sealants

Calcium silicate is used as a sealant in roads or on the shells of fresh eggs: when sodium silicate is applied as a sealant to cured concrete or egg shells, it chemically reacts with calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate to form calcium silicate hydrate, sealing micropores with a relatively impermeable material.

-As a component of cement

Calcium silicate also occurs in cements, where it is known as belite or in cement chemist notation C2S.

-Calcium silicate board 

Calcium silicate board is a stable performance and light weight building & decoration board used as siliceous and calcareous materialsas major and natural fiber reinforced, with the process pulping, emulsion, forming, pressing, drying and surface treatment. 
The main feature is stable performance, high strength, fire-proof performance, easy construction and so on.

-Agriculture

Calcium silicate is often used in agriculture as a plant available source of silicon. 
It is "applied extensively to Everglades mucks and associated sands planted to sugarcane and rice".

DESCRIPTION

Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. 
Also, Calcium silicate is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. 
Calcium silicate occurs naturally as the mineral larnite.

Calcium silicate is a component of many minerals, including afwillite, akermanite, andradite, calcite, centrallasite, crestmoreite, diopside, eaklite, grammite, gyrolite, hillebrandite, larnite, and wollastonite. 
In its pure form, calcium metasilicate is a white to off-white color capable of absorbing up to two and a half times its weight of water. 
In this form, the hydrated powder retains its ability to flow freely. 
Addition of a mineral acid, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) results in the formation of a gel.

Calcium Silicate is generally immediately available in most volumes. 
High purity, submicron and nanopowder forms may be considered.
Typical and custom packaging is available.

Calcium silicate (Ca2SiO4), also known as calcium silicon oxide, is a product derived from limestone and diatomaceous earth, and is used in the pharmaceutical industry as an anticaking agent. 
Anti-caking agents absorb moisture and allow products to flow freely during the manufacturing process. 
Silicon dioxide and various silicates occur abundantly in the earth's crust, are present in practically all natural waters, animals, and plants, and are part of the normal human diet. 
They are typically used in very small amounts. 
The available evidence on the safety of sodium silicate indicates that it is low when consumed at defined concentrations.

Calcium silicate is an inorganic substance that can exist in different forms: CaSiO3 or Ca2SiO4.
Calcium silicate is described as a very fine, white or off-white powder with low bulk density and high physical water absorption. 
Calcium silicate is commonly used as anti-caking agent in food ingredients.

Calcium silicate consists primarily of two elements: quicklime and microsilica, where microsilica initially was a waste product from the production of silicon metal and ferrosilicon.
Microsilica became a rather costly waste product and therefore, the desire to recycle the material arose in the silicon industry.
The first idea was to use the waste material in connection with moler and this development process led to a special insulating board combining the two materials. 

Calcium silicate is a chemical compound composed of calcium and silica with the chemical formula Ca2SiO4 that is naturally found in limestone. 
Calcium silicate has a high water absorption rate and a low bulk density.
Also, Calcium silicate is a key industrial chemical compound used in applications requiring high strength and durability. 
Calcium silicate is mostly used as an industrial alternative to the highly toxic asbestos compound for insulating structures and large construction units.

Calcium Silicate is a versatile lightweight insulation product that comes in sheet form and can be moulded and machined into bespoke shapes and tubes.
Calcium silicate is a powder with the formula Ca2SiO4. 
This technical composite is primarily employed for its excellent high-temperature properties. 

Calcium silicate is a low-density material, white in colour. 
Calcium silicate is odourless and poses no known health risks. 
Its derivatives are highly valued for their low thermal conductivity, their high resistance to heat and their limited dimensional shrinkage.

PROPERTIES

Calcium silicate is a white free-flowing powder. 
Calcium silicate can be derived from naturally occurring limestone and diatomaceous earth, a siliceous sedimentary rock. 
Calcium silicate is one of a group of compounds that can be produced by reacting calcium oxide and silica in various ratios e.g. 3CaO·SiO2, alite (Ca3SiO5); 2CaO·SiO2, (Ca2SiO4); 3CaO·2SiO2, (Ca3SiO7); and CaO·SiO2, wollastonite (CaSiO3). 
Calcium silicate has a low bulk density and high physical water absorption.

Chemical formula: Ca2O4Si
Molar mass: 172.237 g·mol−1
Appearance: White crystals
Density: 2.9 g/cm3 (solid)
Melting point: 2,130°C (3,870 °F; 2,400 K)
Solubility in water: 0.01% (20 °C)

PRODUCTION

Calcium silicate is produced from lime, hydrochloric acid, and sodium silicate. 
Burnt lime is treated with hydrochloric acid to produce calcium chloride. 
The calcium chloride solution is then treated with a clear sodium silicate once calcium silicate is precipitated out. 
The precipitate is centrifuged, washed, dried and packed in suitable containers.

SYNONYMS

calcium silicate
Dicalcium orthosilicate 
Dicalciumorthosilicat 
Orthosilicate de dicalcium 
10034-77-2 
10101-39-0