Solutions · Lime Storage
Quicklime reacts with water, hydrated lime is extremely fine and dusty – and both are alkaline. PW Silo Systems designs lime silos in aluminum and stainless steel with you – with the right material, discharge aids, and dust collection for your lime.
Lime Storage at a Glance
A lime silo stores quicklime (calcium oxide) or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) close to the process – for water and wastewater treatment, flue gas cleaning, building materials, steel, or chemical production. It keeps the lime dry and feeds it in a controlled way to dosing, slaking, or mixing.
Quicklime reacts with water and must be kept dry. Hydrated lime is a very fine, light powder that flows poorly and dusts easily. Lime is alkaline. That is why the silo material, the design, and the discharge equipment are defined together with you for your lime and your site.
Why Lime Is Demanding
Lime is a basic raw material, but reactivity, fine particles, and dust decide whether a lime silo runs reliably.
Quicklime reacts with water and moisture. Moisture in the silo changes the product and can lead to lumps and deposits.
Hydrated lime is very fine and cohesive. It bridges at the outlet and forms rat-holes in the silo.
During pneumatic filling, light lime dust spreads quickly and settles on equipment and surroundings.
Lime is alkaline. The silo material and design must suit the product, its moisture, and your operating conditions.
In funnel flow, lime can stay in the silo for a long time while fresh product passes through the center.
Quicklime, hydrated lime, and milk of lime need different storage – dry silos for powders, tanks for suspensions.
Silo Materials
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel. Carbon steel is not an option for us: its coating is the only protection against corrosion – and lime is alkaline.
Which of our two materials and which design fit your lime silo depends on the lime type, its moisture, your process, and your site. We define the material and the design with you.
Your Lime Silo System
Silo, discharge, filtration, monitoring, and tanks are engineered as one system. That means fewer interfaces for your team and components that are designed to work together.
Storage
Concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones – as standard, site-assembled, indoor, or multi-compartment silos.
Learn moreDischarge
Air fluidization for uniform discharge of poorly flowing products – prevents bridging and can be retrofitted to existing silos.
Learn moreDischarge
Vibration from unbalanced motors breaks up cohesive forces, resolves caking, and keeps the outlet clear.
Learn moreFiltration
Dust separation during pneumatic filling and conveying – sized for fine powders.
Learn moreMonitoring
Level measurement for reliable monitoring of the silo content – so you know when to reorder.
Learn moreLiquids
Tanks in aluminum and stainless steel for liquid products and suspensions.
Learn moreLime Products
Products marked “Tested in our lab” are on our list of bulk materials. The others we review with you based on your material data before designing the silo.
Tested in our lab
Quicklime, burnt lime, calcium oxide, CaO
Quicklime is on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab. Silo and venting are designed to keep it dry.
Tested in our lab
Hydrated lime, slaked lime, calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)₂
Hydrated lime is on our tested list. Its very fine particles are considered in hopper design, discharge aids, and filtration.
Tested in our lab
Milk of lime, lime slurry, lime milk
Milk of lime is on our tested list. As a suspension, it is stored in our PW TankLine tanks rather than silos.
Review with us
Dolomitic lime, burnt dolomite
Dolomitic lime products differ in reactivity and grain size. We review your product data with you.
Review with us
Lime kiln dust, LKD
Lime kiln dust varies with its source. We review your material data with you before designing the silo.
Review with us
Lime-based blends, soil stabilization lime
Blended lime products behave differently depending on their recipe. We review the right storage with you.
Also tested in our lab:
Send us your material data and we will review the right solution with you:
Lime Check
Type in your lime product or any other bulk material to see whether it has already been tested in our lab. The list covers 287 bulk materials.
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Service in the U.S.
With more than 40 years of experience in silo engineering, we support your lime silo project from the first design discussion to commissioning. We deliver to every U.S. state and install with our own qualified personnel.
FAQ
Answers to the questions plant managers, engineers, and buyers ask most often about storing lime in silos.
Dry lime products can be stored in a properly designed silo, and lime suspensions in tanks. These products are on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab:
Milk of lime is stored in our PW TankLine tanks. Dolomitic lime, lime kiln dust, and lime blends we review with you based on your material data.
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel – never in coated carbon steel. Which material and which design fit your lime depends on the lime type, its moisture, your process, and your site. We define them with you.
Quicklime reacts with water, so the silo is closed and filling and venting are defined for your delivery method. Storage conditions for your site we clarify with you.
Hydrated lime is a very fine, cohesive powder. It compacts under the weight of the silo content and builds bridges or rat-holes above the outlet. A mass-flow hopper geometry, PW SpeedBlow air fluidization, and bin activators keep it moving. The right combination depends on your lime.
In mass flow, the entire silo content moves downward when material is discharged – not just a channel in the center. Your lime leaves the silo in the order it came in (first in, first out), and no product is left behind in dead zones. Our PW StoreLine silos are designed for concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones.
Integrated filters and PW FilterLine dust collectors separate dust during pneumatic filling and conveying. Filter size and venting are matched to your filling rate and your lime.
The right size depends on your daily consumption, delivery intervals, the number of products, and the space available at your site. PW StoreLine silos are available in a wide range of sizes and diameters, and silos too large for road transport are assembled on site. We size the system with you – without oversized investment.
Yes. We deliver to every U.S. state and support your project with silo transport, field assembly, silo installation and supervision, and site relocation of existing systems.
Very likely. Our silo systems are designed for nearly all free-flowing, granular, and powdered bulk solids. Send us your material details – particle size, bulk density, moisture, and how the product is filled and discharged – and we will review the right storage solution with you.
Tell us about your products, required storage capacity, how the silo is filled and discharged, and your site conditions. Based on this, we work out the material, silo type, and configuration with you and send you a detailed quote.
