Soda lime

Soda lime canister used in anaesthetic machines to act as a carbon dioxide scrubber.

Soda lime, a mixture of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium oxide (CaO), is used in granular form within recirculating breathing environments like general anesthesia and its breathing circuit, submarines, rebreathers, and hyperbaric chambers and underwater habitats. Its purpose is to eliminate carbon dioxide (CO
₂) from breathing gases, preventing carbon dioxide retention and, eventually, carbon dioxide poisoning.<ref name=Barash>Andrews, J. Jeff (1 September 2005). "Anesthesia Systems". In Paul G. Barash; Bruce F. Cullen; Robert K. Stoelting (eds.). Clinical Anesthesia (5th ed.). United States: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 1584. ISBN 978-0-7817-5745-4. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2010.</ref><ref name=Brubakk>Brubakk, Alf O.; Tom S. Neuman (2003). Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving, 5th Rev ed. United States: Saunders Ltd. p. 800. ISBN 978-0-7020-2571-6.</ref> The creation of soda lime involves treating slaked lime with a concentrated sodium hydroxide solution.

Chemical components

The primary components of soda lime include: calcium oxide (CaO) constituting approximately 75%, water (H
₂O) accounting for around 20%, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) making up about 3%, and potassium hydroxide (KOH) present at approximately 0.1%.

Anaesthesia

Further information: Carbon dioxide scrubber

During general anaesthesia, a patient's exhaled gases, containing carbon dioxide, pass through an anaesthesia machine's breathing circuit, containing a soda lime canister filled with soda lime granules.<ref name="Barash" /> Medical-grade soda lime includes an indicating dye that changes color when it reaches its carbon dioxide absorption capacity. To ensure proper functioning, a carbon dioxide scrubber (or soda lime canister) should not be used if the indicating dye is activated. Standard anesthesia machines typically contain up to 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of soda lime granules.

Recent carbon dioxide absorbents have been developed to minimize the risk of toxic by-product formation resulting from the interaction between the absorbent and inhaled anesthetics, like halothane. Some absorbents, including those made from lithium hydroxide, are available for this purpose.

Space flight

In space flights, lithium hydroxide (LiOH) is used as a carbon dioxide absorbent due to its low molecular weight (Na: 23 g/mol; Li: 7 g/mol), saving weight during launch. During the Apollo 13 flight, high carbon dioxide levels in the Lunar Module led the crew to adapt spare absorbent cartridges from the Apollo capsule to the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) system.

Rebreather use

Exhaled gas undergoes a crucial process: it must pass through a carbon dioxide scrubber where carbon dioxide is absorbed before the gas is circulated for breathing again. In rebreathers, this scrubber is integrated into the breathing loop.<ref name=Brubakk/><ref name=rebreather2.0>Richardson, Drew; Menduno, Michael; Shreeves, Karl (eds). (1996). "Proceedings of Rebreather Forum 2.0". Diving Science and Technology Workshop. Diving Science and Technology: 286. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-18.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)</ref> However, in larger settings like recompression chambers or submarines, a fan is employed to ensure a continuous flow of gas through the scrubbing canister. Notably, the use of color indicating dye in United States Navy fleet applications ceased in 1996 due to concerns about potential chemical releases into the circuit.<ref>Lillo RS, Ruby A, Gummin DD, Porter WR, Caldwell JM (March 1996). "Chemical safety of U.S. Navy Fleet soda lime". Undersea Hyperb Med. 23 (1): 43–53. PMID 8653065. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-18.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)</ref>

Chemical reaction

The overall chemical reaction is:

CO₂ + Ca(OH)₂ → CaCO₃ + H₂O + heat (in the presence of water)

Each mole of CO₂ (44 g) reacts with one mole of calcium hydroxide (74 g) and produces one mole of water (18 g).

The reaction can be considered as a strong-base-catalysed, water-facilitated reaction.<ref name="Pelc_1921">Joseph Pelc (1923). Process of treating lime-containing materials. Application filed August 30, 1921. Serial No. 496,963. Patented Mar. 6, 1923. United States, 1,447,568 Patent Office.</ref>

The reaction mechanism of carbon dioxide with soda lime can be decomposed in three elementary steps:

1) <chem> CO2(g) <=>> CO2(aq)</chem> (CO₂ dissolves in water – slow and rate-determining),

2) <chem>CO2(aq) + NaOH -> NaHCO3</chem> (bicarbonate formation at high pH),

3) <chem>NaHCO3 + Ca(OH)2 -> CaCO3 + NaOH + H2O </chem> (NaOH recycled to step 2 – hence a catalyst).

This sequence of reactions explains the catalytic role played by sodium hydroxide in the system and why soda lime is faster in chemical reactivity than calcium hydroxide alone.<ref name="Samari_2019">Samari, Mohammad; Ridha, Firas; Manovic, Vasilije; Macchi, Arturo; Anthony, E. J. (2019). "Direct capture of carbon dioxide from air via lime-based sorbents". Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 25: 25–41. doi:10.1007/s11027-019-9845-0. ISSN 1381-2386.</ref> The moist sodium hydroxide impregnates the surface and the porosity of calcium hydroxide grains with a high specific surface area.<ref name="Sevcik_2016">Ševčík, Radek; Mácová, Petra; Sotiriadis, Konstantinos; Pérez-Estébanez, Marta; Viani, Alberto; Šašek, Petr (2016). "Micro-Raman spectroscopy investigation of the carbonation reaction in a lime paste produced with a traditional technology". Journal of Raman Spectroscopy. 47 (12): 1452–1457. Bibcode:2016JRSp...47.1452S. doi:10.1002/jrs.4929. ISSN 0377-0486.</ref> It reacts much more quickly and so contributes to a faster elimination of the carbon monoxide from the rebreathing circuit. The formation of water by the reaction and the moisture from the respiration also act as a solvent for the reaction. Reactions in aqueous phase are generally faster than between a dry gas and a dry solid. Soda lime is commonly used in closed-circuit diving rebreathers and in the anesthesia breathing circuit in anesthesia systems.<ref name="Adriani_1941">Adriani, J.; Byrd, M. L. (1941). "A study of carbon dioxide absorption appliances for anesthesia: The canister". Anesthesiology. 2 (4): 450–455. doi:10.1097/00000542-194107000-00009.</ref><ref name="Freeman_2014">Freeman, Brian S.; Berger, Jeffrey S. (2014). Anesthesiology Core Review: Part One Basic Exam. Chapter 17: Absorption of Carbon Dioxide. McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved 22 April 2020 – via Access Medicine.</ref>

The same catalytic effect by the alkali hydroxides (function of the Na₂O_eq content of cement) also contributes to the carbonation of portlandite by atmospheric CO₂ in concrete although the rate of propagation of the reaction front is there essentially limited by the carbon dioxide diffusion within the concrete matrix less porous.<ref name="Verbeck_1958">Verbeck, G. (1958). "Carbonation of hydrated Portland cement". STP205-EB Cement and Concrete (West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International: 17–36. doi:10.1520/STP39460S. ISBN 978-0-8031-5667-8.</ref>

Analogy with the alkali–silica reaction

See also: Alkali–silica reaction

A similar reaction to above, also catalysed by sodium hydroxide, is the alkali–silica reaction, a slow degradation process causing the swelling and the cracking of concrete containing aggregates rich in reactive amorphous silica. In a very similar way, sodium hydroxide greatly facilitates the dissolution of the amorphous silica. The produced sodium silicate then reacts with the calcium hydroxide (portlandite) present in the hardened cement paste to form calcium silicate hydrate (abbreviated as C-S-H in the cement chemist notation). This silicification reaction of calcium hydroxide on its turn continuously releases again sodium hydroxide in solution, maintaining a high pH, and the cycle continues up to the total disappearance of portlandite or reactive silica in the exposed concrete. Without the catalysis of this reaction by sodium- or potassium-soluble hydroxides, the alkali–silica reaction would not proceed or would be limited to a very slow pozzolanic reaction. The alkali–silica reaction can be written like the soda lime reaction, by simply substituting carbon dioxide by silica dioxide in the reactions mentioned here above as follows:

reaction 1:		SiO2 + NaOH		→		NaHSiO3		silica dissolution by NaOH: high pH
reaction 2:		NaHSiO3 + Ca(OH)2		→		CaSiO3 + H2O + NaOH		C-S-H precipitation and regeneration of NaOH
sum (1+2):		SiO2 + Ca(OH)2		→		CaSiO3 + H2O		global reaction: Pozzolanic reaction catalysed by NaOH

See also

• Carbon dioxide scrubber
• Alkali–silica reaction
• Soda–lime glass, a type of glass made from silica, soda, lime and aluminum oxide

External links

• Publications on sodalime in diving operations^[usurped]
• Sofnolime MSDS Example of a commercial soda lime product that is used in diving and medicine
• An Introduction to Sofnolime (Technical Article)