Calcium carbonate Properties

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime, and is usually the principal cause of hard water. It is commonly used medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but excessive consumption can be hazardous.

Calcium carbonate, or CaCO3, comprises more than 4% of the earth’s crust and is found throughout the world.  Its most common natural forms are chalk, limestone, and marble, produced by the sedimentation of the shells of small fossilized snails, shellfish, and coral over millions of years.  Although all three forms are identical in chemical terms, they differ in many other respects, including purity, whiteness, thickness and homogeneity.  Calcium carbonate is one of the most useful and versatile materials known to man.

1. Chemical properties
Name:Calcium carbonate

EINECS:207-439-9

Molecular Formula:CaCO3

CAS Registry Number:471-34-1

Appearance:white or colourless crystals or white powder or chunks

Molecular Weight:100.09

Density:2.93

Boiling Point:333.6°C at 760mmHg

Melting Point:825℃

Flash Point:197℃

Storage Temperature:Store at RT.

Refractive index:1.6583

Solubility:5 M HCl: 0.1 M at 20 °C, clear, colorless

Stability:Stable. Incompatible with acids, fluorine, ammonium salts, alum.

Usage:Used to produce viscous solutions or dispersions, to impart body, improve consistency, or stabilize emulsions, including suspending and bodying agents, setting agents, jellying agents, and bulking agents. Stabilizers and thickeners, from table.

2. Safety Information


Hazard Codes:  Xi

Risk Statements:  37/38-41-36/38-36

Safety Statements : 26-36/37/39-37/39

RTECS: FF9335000

HS Code:  28365000

Hazardous Substances Data: 471-34-1