The University of Maryland suggests that fall is the best time to use dolomite lime. However, it can be applied at any time. All thin section micrographs of the dolomitic lime mortar of JMY show spherulitic carbonate structures (Fig. 19) and a transition area caused by crystallisation processes. This suggests that separate carbonation of Ca and Mg phases is involved. Traditional construction techniques are mentioned in historical literature of the Song and Qing dynasties in China (Dai 2018). However, there is no documentation of how lime was burned or processed for the construction of the Ming Great Wall because the construction of the Wall was a military operation.

Calcium lime was widely used as a binder for bedding and pointing mortars. Even in regions where geologic deposits of dolomite limestone and calcium limestone deposits occur, e.g., Xinguangwu, calcium limestone was preferably used to produce lime. Dettmering, Tanja, and Shibing Dai. 2021. "Mörtel aus der chinesischen Ming-Großmauer - erste Analysenergebnisse und Beschreibung der Kalkarten." In Wissenschaftliches Kolloquium zu Kalkmörteln, −putzen und –farben anlässlich des 30ig-jährigen Bestehens des Instituts für Steinkonservierung e. V., IFS-Bericht Nr. 62, edited by Alles Kalk, 61-80. Goedeke, Holle, and Lothar Goretzki. 2007. Neue Erkenntnisse zu den Eigenschaften von NHL-gebundenen Mörteln. IFS-Bericht Nr 26: S.14–S.23. The assumption that the aggregate consists of acid-soluble limestone could be refuted by microscopic examinations. Rather, the binder itself contains relicts of overburned or underburned limestone and is thus also associated with macroscopically observed dense structures. The aggregates consist of mostly quartz and aluminium silicate kyanite (disthene), and very small amounts of mica biotite. There are no indications that limestone and dolomite were added as aggregates. The grain size distributions of the aggregates reflect their high proportion of fine fractions smaller than 0.25 mm (Figs. 18 and 21). I will definitely look for calcitic lime instead of dolomite. Glad I didn’t buy that big bag last week.Another model is the mixing-zone or Dorag model, in which meteoric water mixes with seawater already present in the pore space, increasing the chemical activity of magnesium relative to calcium and causing dolomitization. The formation of Pleistocene dolomite reefs in Jamaica has been attributed to this process. However, this model has been heavily criticized, [26] with one 2004 review paper describing it bluntly as "a myth". [27] A 2021 paper argued that the mixing zone serves as domain of intense microbial activity which promotes dolomitization. [28] Clancy, T.A.; Benson, D.J. (2009). "Refractory Dolomite Raw Materials". Raw Materials for Refractories Conference. Vol.38. John Wiley & Sons. p.119. ISBN 9780470320488 . Retrieved 14 September 2021.

Lime and dolomite lime both contain calcium carbonate, and they are both used to raise the pH of acidic soil (known as liming). The XGW lime mortars based on calcium-rich lime binders show lower bulk densities ranging between 1.1 and 1.2 g/cm 3. They are more porous than dolomitic lime mortars, and the capillary porosities of calcium-rich lime mortars are on average 45% by volume and 50% by volume. These values also correspond exactly to the unpublished results of the previously examined larger series of mortars of calcium-rich lime binders of the Great Wall. Compressive strengths of comparative samples could be measured > 6 MPa, lower than those of dolomitic lime mortars, but still relatively high for lime mortars with very low levels of hydraulic components. 4.5 Results of salt analyses and observed damage WHC World Heritage Committee. 2019. The Great Wall. State of Conservation Report. https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/3945. Dolomite is supersaturated in normal seawater by a factor of greater than ten, but dolomite is not seen to precipitate in the oceans. Likewise, geologists have not been successful at precipitating dolomite from seawater at normal temperatures and pressures in laboratory experiments. This is likely due to a very high activation energy for nucleating crystals of dolomite. [32] The presence of magnesium sulfates on masonry surfaces correlates with dolomitic lime mortars, as observed in Europe (Siedel and Laue 2003).To obtain information about the physico-mechanical properties, the bulk density and capillary water absorption relevant to building physics were determined. As the light microscope can visualise voids with a size of > 10 − 6 m, only a few capillary pores (10 − 5 m – 10 − 8 m) are visible. To obtain reference values for compressive strengths, only some (sufficiently large) specimens were tested. Their ultrasonic velocities were determined to estimate the dynamic elastic modulus. 3.2 Salt analyses