Limestone of 'Međeđe': Nikšić as filler in various industries

Abstract

This paper presents the results of testing the possibility of using limestone from the "Međeđe" - Nikšić deposit in different industries. During the examination, the coarse moisture, chemical composition, granulometric composition, bulk and particle density, degree of whiteness, oil and water absorption, granulometric composition of micronized samples and specific surface area were determined. All tests were performed on 8 samples taken from different parts of the deposit and the mean values of the obtained results are presented here. Based on the physico-chemical characteristics, it can be stated that this limestone has a high content of CaO and CaCO3 of 99.01%, as well as a relatively low content of MgO of 0.32% and a low content of SiO2 of 0.26% and alkali and R2O3, with also low content of heavy metals, which is very favorable for limestone. With these physico-chemical properties, this limestone can be used in the following industries: paints and varnishes, paper, rubber and PVC, foundry and foundry industry, sugar industry, metallurgical purposes, glass production, animal feed production and mineral fertilizer production. A serious defect of "Međeđa" limestone is the low degree of whiteness, which does not exceed 89.6%, which prevents its use in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, while the relatively high content of K2O, Fe and Mn prevents its use in calcification of acid soils.