Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
acd166b9-ae8e-4e74-b5ea-192e2415fe68
Materials
Associated ID
34743653-afa6-4046-926b-fc16250cdb24
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Calcium carbide is mainly used in fields such as the production of acetylene, organic synthesis, metal smelting, fertiliser production and carbide synthesis. Calcium carbide is modelled as a pure substance; when modelling this substance the user needs to add a solvent of their choice in the model; the dataset contains the main raw and auxiliary materials, energy, waste and atmospheric emissions of the production process, in which the preliminary treatment of wastewater in the auxiliary units and the waste gas treatment process are included within the dataset boundary, and infrastructure such as the manufacture of production equipment and the construction of plant buildings is not included within the dataset boundary; the data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources; the production activities of this product include raw material crushing, screening, proportioning, reaction and cooling.
Activity Description
The production activities of this product include raw material crushing, screening, proportioning, reaction, cooling and other processes.
Process Description
Calcium carbide (chemical name: calcium carbide) has the chemical formula CaC2 and CAS number 75-20-7. It is a colorless crystal under normal temperature and pressure. Industrial products are mostly gray, brown or black blocks due to impurities, and the cross-section is purple or gray. The density is about 2.22 g/cm3, and the melting point is about 2300°C. When it comes into contact with water, it will react violently to generate acetylene gas and calcium hydroxide. The reaction is exothermic and acetylene is flammable and explosive. It is a hazardous chemical. It is insoluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and ether, and has active chemical properties. It can react with nitrogen at high temperatures to form calcium cyanamide (lime nitrogen), and can also undergo oxidation or chlorination reactions with oxygen, chlorine, etc. Industrially, it is mainly used for acetylene preparation and organic synthesis; it is also used in metal smelting (as a deoxidizer and desulfurizer), fertilizer production (reacting with nitrogen to prepare lime nitrogen, which is used as a high-efficiency nitrogen fertilizer and soil conditioner), and can also be used to prepare carbides such as aluminum carbide and boron carbide, and as a raw material for acetylene generators in mine blasting.
Time period
2015
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The electric furnace smelting method is the mainstream industrial technology for calcium carbide production. Calcium carbide is produced by smelting quicklime and coke at high temperature in an electric arc furnace. This method involves high technical barriers and accounts for about 78% of the total calcium carbide production in the country. This dataset represents the mainstream technology: in calcium carbide production, qualified raw materials are fed into the calcium carbide furnace according to the specified proportion. The arc heat generated by the electrodes and the resistance heat generated by the current passing through the furnace charge are used to produce calcium carbide in a high-temperature molten state.