Rapid determination of CaCO3 in mixtures utilising FT—IR spectroscopy

The quantitative determination of limestone in various mixtures is a very important analytical problem for several industrial processes, especially so for the cement and lime industries where the determination of limestone in building-related products is required. Errors can result from the presence of several minerals, such as Ca(OH)2 and clays, when the common loss-on-ignition method is used. Infrared spectroscopy is one method of quantitatively measuring a specific substance, providing that the vibrational mode used does not overlap with those of other substances present in the mixture. For this reason FT—IR spectroscopy has been used here to illustrate its potential as an analytical tool in the determination of CaCO3 in mixtures of CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2.