Lime treatment of manure aims to disinfect the manure and stabilize it. It creates a calcium rich soil improver. Unleavened (CaO) or unleavened dolomitic (CaMgO) lime is added to the solid fraction of pig manure and / or poultry manure. This increases the pH and the temperature will rise (exothermic reaction). As a result, a part of the mineral nitrogen is released in the form of ammonia, which in turn is collected and treated in the the air purification installation.
An large amount of water is chemically bound or expelled by evaporation, causing the dry matter content to rise. Lime can also be applied to the liquid fraction to remove nitrogen by the converting it to ammonia.