soda lime

soda lime   n.  A mixture of calcium oxide and sodium or potassium hydroxide, used as a drying agent and carbon dioxide absorbent.

Main Entry: soda lime
Function: noun
: a granular mixture of calcium hydroxide with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide or both used to absorb moisture and acid gasesand especially carbon dioxide (as in gas masks, in the rebreathing technique of inhalation anesthesia, and in oxygen therapy)

soda lime n.
A mixture of calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide used to absorb carbon dioxide in rebreathing apparatus and in anesthesia circuits.

soda lime

white or grayish white granular mixture of calcium hydroxide with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Soda lime absorbs carbon dioxide and water vapour and deteriorates rapidly unless kept in airtight containers. Medically, soda lime is used to absorb carbon dioxide in basal metabolism tests and in rebreathing anesthesia systems. In gas masks it is an absorbent for toxic gases. It is used in laboratories as a drying agent. A highly corrosive poison, soda lime severely damages the gastrointestinal tract if swallowed and may cause death.

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