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Thermal microstructural changes of grain-supported limestones

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An Erratum to this article was published on 22 June 2011

Abstract

The microstructure of grainstone, grain-supported limestone, samples representing different geographic and stratigraphic intervals in Egypt were examined before and after calcination at 950°C for 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 h. The examination utilized are X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), transmitted light microscopy (TLM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro tomography (μ-CT). Both the free lime content and reactivity of the produced quicklime were measured. The quicklime produced at 950°C for 0.25 and 0.5 h is un-reactive (RDIN < 10) due to its low content of free lime. However, quicklime produced at 1 and 2 h conditions is highly reactive (RDIN > 30) with variable reactivity due to the differences in the lime microfabric. The grainstones enriched in nummulites resulted in quicklime of higher reactivity than those dominated by foraminifera, peloids and miliolids. This is mainly attributed to the preservation of the intraparticle pores of the original limestone and the development of pinhole and fracture micropores. The shape of pores and not their amount is the main controlling variable in the quicklime reactivity. The grainstones enriched in fracture pores showed more reactive lime, whereas those with compact structures are less reactive post calcination.

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Acknowledgements

The experiments and analyses were made at Bremen University during a 3-month postdoctoral DAAD-GERSS research fellowship. The authors express their deep gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hans Joachim Kuss (Bremen University) Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abu-zeid and Prof. Dr. Mohamed Boukhary (Ain Shams University) for their critical discussion during the implementation of this work. The effort of two anonymous peer-reviewers is also highly appreciated and Associate Editor Anton Beran is thanked for his careful editorial handling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt

    Abdel Monem Mohamed Soltan

  2. Geosciences Department, University of Bremen, Bremen, 28359, Germany

    Wolf A. Kahl

  3. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt

    Mahmoud M. Hazem

  4. Crystallography Department, Faculty of Science, Bremen University, Bremen, 28359, Germany

    Mechael Wendschuh & Reinhard X. Fischer

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  1. Abdel Monem Mohamed Soltan
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  2. Wolf A. Kahl
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  3. Mahmoud M. Hazem
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  4. Mechael Wendschuh
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  5. Reinhard X. Fischer
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Correspondence to Abdel Monem Mohamed Soltan.

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Editorial handling: J. Raith

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00710-011-0155-9

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Soltan, A.M.M., Kahl, W.A., Hazem, M.M. et al. Thermal microstructural changes of grain-supported limestones. Miner Petrol 103, 9–17 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-011-0151-0

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