State of the art in lime, gypsum and magnesia production

The study describes the state of the art for lime and gypsum production as well as for magnesia production by means of deacidification and sinter fire. Environmental impacts of Austrian plants, such as air pollutant emissions (nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, dust – from diffuse and trapped sources) and energy consumption are presented. These are well documented for the Austrian lime industry. Data for lime kilns in other industries are currently lacking. In the plants for gypsum production, the limit values for dust in accordance with the Gipsanlagenverordnung (Gypsum Plant Ordinance) are complied with or usually exceeded. For sulphur dioxide emissions that are highly dependent on raw materials, the limit value in the Gypsum Plant Ordinance no longer corresponds to the state of the art. There is a need to reduce dust and nitrogen oxide emissions in magnesia production plants.