Lime quarry

[biffvernon]

SPAB organised a visit to the Singleton Birch lime quarry at Melton Ross, Lincolnshire, today. They are one of the biggest lime producers, supplying quicklime to Ty Mawr, Rose of Jericho etc and are the only UK producer of hydraulic lime.

Here's where it starts. The first picture is one of the quarry faces, the second is the same face a couple of seconds later, with 5000 tonnes of solid cliff neatly rearranged into a heap of rubble ready to be scooped into the crusher and conveyored to the kilns. A little later bags of lime lime, paletted and shrink wrapped, are ready for the off.

 

[biffvernon]

The kilns are BIG

Not quite like the one Gervase showed us!

 

[biffvernon]

Here's a little pile of chalk waiting it's turn to go through the kiln:

 

[biffvernon]

And after kilning, the quicklime passes through the hydration plant where just enough water is added to turn it into hydrated lime, from where it goes to the bagging plant. The lime is weighed out into the bags, the air squeezed out, arranged on pallets, wrapped in polythene and stacked ready for the lorry. And no human goes near it. This pic shows one of the robots.

 

[Nemesis]

Better, much better, than cement... but still not perfect. Sad really that so many are still knocking down re-usable buildings and knocking off perfecty good lime plaster.

 

[biffvernon]

Singleton Birch are producing Hydraulic limes, 2 and 3.5, from the local bands of 'Pink Chalk' and 'Red Chalk'. Within a couple of years they intend to also produce NHL 5 and are pursuing the case for NHL 1, a weaker hydraulic that might have many applications in the conservation of period properties. Much of Victorian London was built with limes such as the 'Dorking Lime'. This was weakly hydraulic, perhaps equivalent to an NHL 1. It is planned to invest in a new kiln, dedicated to hydraulic lime production, in recognition of the usefulness of such a product to compete with cement.

 

[Nemesis]

I'm not knocking - far, far better than cement of course... it just would be so much better if everyone conserved their buildings and the existing lime! It's still using the earth's resources up, and transport etc etc...

 

[L1zzy]

Cooer I doubt if i could fit one of those kilns in my back garden !