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.[1][2] The creation of soda lime involves treating slaked lime with a concentrated sodium hydroxide solution.

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.