<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/skins/common/feed.css?301"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
		<id>https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?action=history&amp;feed=atom&amp;title=Natural_gypsum</id>
		<title>Natural gypsum - Revision history</title>
		<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?action=history&amp;feed=atom&amp;title=Natural_gypsum"/>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;action=history"/>
		<updated>2026-05-26T11:31:59Z</updated>
		<subtitle>Revision history for this page on the wiki</subtitle>
		<generator>MediaWiki 1.17.4</generator>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=247126&amp;oldid=prev</id>
		<title>Designing Buildings at 08:45, 23 January 2023</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=247126&amp;oldid=prev"/>
				<updated>2023-01-23T08:45:53Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-marker' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-content' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-marker' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-content' /&gt;
		&lt;tr valign='top'&gt;
		&lt;td colspan='2' style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;← Older revision&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;td colspan='2' style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;Revision as of 08:45, 23 January 2023&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;is comprised &lt;/del&gt;of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, and water. It is an abundant mineral in sedimentary rocks that has been mined and used for construction &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;and &lt;/del&gt;and as a fertiliser since the time of Ancient Egypt.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;= What is natural gypsum? =&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;consists &lt;/ins&gt;of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, and water. It is an abundant mineral in sedimentary rocks that has been mined and used for construction and as a fertiliser since the time of Ancient Egypt.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Natural occurrence =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Natural occurrence =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The mineral gypsum was formed around 200 million years ago due to the evaporation of sea water, leaving layered deposits of &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate&lt;/del&gt;, under high pressure and temperature the &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Gypsum &lt;/del&gt;turns into &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Anhydrite &lt;/del&gt;(CaSO4). The sedimentary rock contains varying amounts of gyspum, (around 75% to 95%), with the remaining being clay and chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The mineral gypsum was formed around 200 million years ago due to the evaporation of sea water, leaving layered deposits of &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;calcium sulphate dihydrate&lt;/ins&gt;, under high pressure and temperature the &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;gypsum &lt;/ins&gt;turns into &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;anhydrite &lt;/ins&gt;(CaSO4). The sedimentary rock contains varying amounts of gyspum, (around 75% to 95%), with the remaining being clay and chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Gypsum and &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Anyhdrite &lt;/del&gt;can occur in masses up to a few metres thick and are often mined in conjunction with one another. Gypsum has a considerably greater number of applications although finely ground and blended anhydrite and gypsum are used in large quantities as part of the mix &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;for &lt;/del&gt;to produce cement clinker and &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;in turn &lt;/del&gt;Portland &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Cement&lt;/del&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Gypsum and &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;anyhdrite &lt;/ins&gt;can occur in masses up to a few metres thick and are often mined in conjunction with one another. Gypsum has a considerably greater number of applications although finely ground and blended anhydrite and gypsum are used in large quantities as part of the mix to produce cement clinker and Portland &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;cement&lt;/ins&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pure gypsum is typically white, although impurities create a wide range of different colours&lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, it &lt;/del&gt;is moderately water-soluble but exhibits retrograde solubility, meaning it becomes less soluble at higher temperatures. It is fire resistant and is effective at preventing the passage of sound.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pure gypsum is typically white, although impurities create a wide range of different colours&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;. It &lt;/ins&gt;is moderately water-soluble but exhibits retrograde solubility, meaning it becomes less soluble at higher temperatures. It is fire resistant and is effective at preventing the passage of sound.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Production and use =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Production and use =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 13:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 15:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;In terms of production, gypsum rock is mined or quarried and then crushed and ground into a fine powder. When natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O) is ground to a powder and heated at 150° to 165° C, the majority of its chemically combined water is removed, to produce a hemi-hydrate (a crystalline hydrate containing one molecule of water for every two molecules of its compound) plaster (CaSO4,1/2H2O), better known as Plaster of Paris.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;In terms of production, gypsum rock is mined or quarried and then crushed and ground into a fine powder. When natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O) is ground to a powder and heated at 150° to 165° C, the majority of its chemically combined water is removed, to produce a hemi-hydrate (a crystalline hydrate containing one molecule of water for every two molecules of its compound) plaster (CaSO4,1/2H2O), better known as Plaster of Paris.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;When the dry powder is then again mixed with water, it forms a paste which can set hard&lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, &lt;/del&gt;as the water recombines to produce Gypsum again. This process of dehydration and rehydration can be repeated almost indefinitely, meaning gypsum in its pure form can be recycled &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;in-definately, the &lt;/del&gt;prohibiting factor to this is that &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;is &lt;/del&gt;is most &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;often &lt;/del&gt;used in combination with other materials &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;for use &lt;/del&gt;as;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;When the dry powder is then again mixed with water, it forms a paste which can set hard as the water recombines to produce Gypsum again. This process of dehydration and rehydration can be repeated almost indefinitely, meaning gypsum in its pure form can be recycled &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;indefinitely. The &lt;/ins&gt;prohibiting factor to this is that &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;it &lt;/ins&gt;is most &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;commonly &lt;/ins&gt;used in combination with other materials as;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Plaster&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Plaster&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;.&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;plasterboard &lt;/del&gt;/ wallboard&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Plasterboard &lt;/ins&gt;/ wallboard&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;.&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blockwork.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blockwork.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Mortar.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Mortar.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blackboard chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blackboard chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* In the production of cement clinker for Portland &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;Cement &lt;/del&gt;(blended with anhydrite).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* In the production of cement clinker for Portland &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;cement &lt;/ins&gt;(blended with anhydrite).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;There are a number of different products that are being developed that make use of recycled materials by mixing &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;materials of &lt;/del&gt;varying degrees of purity, part of this process can also involve the production of what is called synthetic gypsum.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;There are a number of different products that are being developed that make use of recycled materials by mixing &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;them with &lt;/ins&gt;varying degrees of purity, part of this process can also involve the production of what is called synthetic gypsum.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Land fill and recycling =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Land fill and recycling =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Gypsum itself can be recycled in a closed loop, meaning it can be recycled into the same product again, rather than down-cycled into another product. Danemark has some of the highest recycling rates in Europe with around 60% of gypsum being recycled&lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, whilst &lt;/del&gt;the European Union set a target of around 70%, &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;other &lt;/del&gt;countries such as Sweden, Norway, France and the UK are also gradually increasing their recycling rates. Though &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;whist &lt;/del&gt;tonnages of recycled demolition waste are increasing the proportion being recycled is not as high &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;are &lt;/del&gt;targets due to challenges surrounding contamination with other materials such as in plasterboard&lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, but rates are gradually increasing&lt;/del&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Gypsum itself can be recycled in a closed loop, meaning it can be recycled into the same product again, rather than down-cycled into another product. Danemark has some of the highest recycling rates in Europe with around 60% of gypsum being recycled&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;. Whilst &lt;/ins&gt;the European Union set a target of around 70%, countries such as Sweden, Norway, France and the UK are also gradually increasing their recycling rates. Though tonnages of recycled demolition waste are increasing&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, &lt;/ins&gt;the proportion being recycled is not as high &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;as the &lt;/ins&gt;targets due to challenges surrounding contamination with other materials such as in plasterboard.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Once collected, plasterboards can be broken down into fine powders which can then be re-introduced, in controlled blends, to certain manufacturing processes. For closed loop recycling waste cycles, construction materials need to be pre-processed to remove nearly all other materials, as gypsum recyclers tend to accept only up to 3 per cent contamination.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Once collected, plasterboards can be broken down into fine powders which can then be re-introduced, in controlled blends, to certain manufacturing processes. For closed loop recycling waste cycles, construction materials need to be pre-processed to remove nearly all other materials, as gypsum recyclers tend to accept only up to 3 per cent contamination.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Recycling gypsum waste reduces the need for virgin gypsum to be quarried and processed, which can mean significant energy and material savings for the processing of each metric ton, whilst &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;on the other side &lt;/del&gt;gypsum found in landfilled plasterboard can decompose to release toxic hydrogen sulfide, &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;whilst &lt;/del&gt;the paper can decompose to produce the potent greenhouse gas, methane.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Recycling gypsum waste reduces the need for virgin gypsum to be quarried and processed, which can mean significant energy and material savings for the processing of each metric ton, whilst gypsum found in landfilled plasterboard can decompose to release toxic hydrogen sulfide, &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;and &lt;/ins&gt;the paper can decompose to produce the potent greenhouse gas, methane.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Related articles on Designing Buildings =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Related articles on Designing Buildings =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Designing Buildings</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=245576&amp;oldid=prev</id>
		<title>Editor at 08:06, 2 January 2023</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=245576&amp;oldid=prev"/>
				<updated>2023-01-02T08:06:01Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-marker' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-content' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-marker' /&gt;
			&lt;col class='diff-content' /&gt;
		&lt;tr valign='top'&gt;
		&lt;td colspan='2' style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;← Older revision&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;td colspan='2' style=&quot;background-color: white; color:black;&quot;&gt;Revision as of 08:06, 2 January 2023&lt;/td&gt;
		&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It is comprised of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, and water. It is an abundant mineral in sedimentary rocks that has been mined and used for construction and and as a fertiliser since the time of Ancient Egypt.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It is comprised of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, and water. It is an abundant mineral in sedimentary rocks that has been mined and used for construction and and as a fertiliser since the time of Ancient Egypt.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Natural &lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;occurence &lt;/del&gt;=&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Natural &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;occurrence &lt;/ins&gt;=&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The mineral gypsum was formed around 200 million years ago due to the evaporation of sea water, leaving layered deposits of Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate, under high pressure and temperature the Gypsum turns into Anhydrite (CaSO4). The sedimentary rock contains varying amounts of gyspum, (around 75% to 95%), with the remaining being clay and chalk. Gypsum and Anyhdrite can occur in masses up to a few metres thick and are often mined in conjunction with one another&lt;del class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;, though gypsum &lt;/del&gt;has a considerably greater number of applications.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The mineral gypsum was formed around 200 million years ago due to the evaporation of sea water, leaving layered deposits of Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate, under high pressure and temperature the Gypsum turns into Anhydrite (CaSO4). The sedimentary rock contains varying amounts of gyspum, (around 75% to 95%), with the remaining being clay and chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Gypsum and Anyhdrite can occur in masses up to a few metres thick and are often mined in conjunction with one another&lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;. Gypsum &lt;/ins&gt;has a considerably greater number of applications &lt;ins class=&quot;diffchange diffchange-inline&quot;&gt;although finely ground and blended anhydrite and gypsum are used in large quantities as part of the mix for to produce cement clinker and in turn Portland Cement&lt;/ins&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pure gypsum is typically white, although impurities create a wide range of different colours, it is moderately water-soluble but exhibits retrograde solubility, meaning it becomes less soluble at higher temperatures. It is fire resistant and is effective at preventing the passage of sound.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pure gypsum is typically white, although impurities create a wide range of different colours, it is moderately water-soluble but exhibits retrograde solubility, meaning it becomes less soluble at higher temperatures. It is fire resistant and is effective at preventing the passage of sound.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 9:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 11:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Production and use =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;= Production and use =&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;minus;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #ffa; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;In terms of production, gypsum rock is mined or quarried and then crushed and ground into a fine powder. When natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O) is ground to a powder and heated at 150° to 165° C, the majority of its chemically combined water is removed, to produce a hemi-hydrate (a crystalline hydrate containing one molecule of water for every two molecules of its compound) plaster (CaSO4,1/2H2O), better known as Plaster of Paris. When the dry powder is then again mixed with water, it forms a paste which can set hard, as the water recombines to produce Gypsum again. This process of dehydration and rehydration can be repeated almost indefinitely, meaning gypsum in its pure form can be recycled in-definately, the prohibiting factor to this is that is is most often used in combination with other materials for use as;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;In terms of production, gypsum rock is mined or quarried and then crushed and ground into a fine powder. When natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O) is ground to a powder and heated at 150° to 165° C, the majority of its chemically combined water is removed, to produce a hemi-hydrate (a crystalline hydrate containing one molecule of water for every two molecules of its compound) plaster (CaSO4,1/2H2O), better known as Plaster of Paris.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;When the dry powder is then again mixed with water, it forms a paste which can set hard, as the water recombines to produce Gypsum again. This process of dehydration and rehydration can be repeated almost indefinitely, meaning gypsum in its pure form can be recycled in-definately, the prohibiting factor to this is that is is most often used in combination with other materials for use as;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Plaster&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Plaster&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 16:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 20:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Mortar.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Mortar.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blackboard chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* Blackboard chalk.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;+&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #cfc; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;ins style=&quot;color: red; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;* In the production of cement clinker for Portland Cement (blended with anhydrite).&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;There are a number of different products that are being developed that make use of recycled materials by mixing materials of varying degrees of purity, part of this process can also involve the production of what is called synthetic gypsum.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class='diff-marker'&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background: #eee; color:black; font-size: smaller;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;There are a number of different products that are being developed that make use of recycled materials by mixing materials of varying degrees of purity, part of this process can also involve the production of what is called synthetic gypsum.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Editor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=245571&amp;oldid=prev</id>
		<title>Editor: Created page with &quot;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It is comprised of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, an...&quot;</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Natural_gypsum&amp;diff=245571&amp;oldid=prev"/>
				<updated>2023-01-02T07:55:44Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Created page with &amp;quot;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It is comprised of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, an...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;New page&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;Natural gypsum is a soft sulphate mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O, also known as calcium sulphate dihydrate. It is comprised of calcium, sulphur bound to oxygen, and water. It is an abundant mineral in sedimentary rocks that has been mined and used for construction and and as a fertiliser since the time of Ancient Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
= Natural occurence =&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The mineral gypsum was formed around 200 million years ago due to the evaporation of sea water, leaving layered deposits of Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate, under high pressure and temperature the Gypsum turns into Anhydrite (CaSO4). The sedimentary rock contains varying amounts of gyspum, (around 75% to 95%), with the remaining being clay and chalk. Gypsum and Anyhdrite can occur in masses up to a few metres thick and are often mined in conjunction with one another, though gypsum has a considerably greater number of applications.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pure gypsum is typically white, although impurities create a wide range of different colours, it is moderately water-soluble but exhibits retrograde solubility, meaning it becomes less soluble at higher temperatures. It is fire resistant and is effective at preventing the passage of sound.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
= Production and use =&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In terms of production, gypsum rock is mined or quarried and then crushed and ground into a fine powder. When natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O) is ground to a powder and heated at 150° to 165° C, the majority of its chemically combined water is removed, to produce a hemi-hydrate (a crystalline hydrate containing one molecule of water for every two molecules of its compound) plaster (CaSO4,1/2H2O), better known as Plaster of Paris. When the dry powder is then again mixed with water, it forms a paste which can set hard, as the water recombines to produce Gypsum again. This process of dehydration and rehydration can be repeated almost indefinitely, meaning gypsum in its pure form can be recycled in-definately, the prohibiting factor to this is that is is most often used in combination with other materials for use as;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Plaster&lt;br /&gt;
* plasterboard / wallboard&lt;br /&gt;
* Blockwork.&lt;br /&gt;
* Mortar.&lt;br /&gt;
* Blackboard chalk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are a number of different products that are being developed that make use of recycled materials by mixing materials of varying degrees of purity, part of this process can also involve the production of what is called synthetic gypsum.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
= Land fill and recycling =&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gypsum itself can be recycled in a closed loop, meaning it can be recycled into the same product again, rather than down-cycled into another product. Danemark has some of the highest recycling rates in Europe with around 60% of gypsum being recycled, whilst the European Union set a target of around 70%, other countries such as Sweden, Norway, France and the UK are also gradually increasing their recycling rates. Though whist tonnages of recycled demolition waste are increasing the proportion being recycled is not as high are targets due to challenges surrounding contamination with other materials such as in plasterboard, but rates are gradually increasing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Once collected, plasterboards can be broken down into fine powders which can then be re-introduced, in controlled blends, to certain manufacturing processes. For closed loop recycling waste cycles, construction materials need to be pre-processed to remove nearly all other materials, as gypsum recyclers tend to accept only up to 3 per cent contamination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Recycling gypsum waste reduces the need for virgin gypsum to be quarried and processed, which can mean significant energy and material savings for the processing of each metric ton, whilst on the other side gypsum found in landfilled plasterboard can decompose to release toxic hydrogen sulfide, whilst the paper can decompose to produce the potent greenhouse gas, methane.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
= Related articles on Designing Buildings =&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Aggregate.&lt;br /&gt;
* Coal ash.&lt;br /&gt;
* Construction materials.&lt;br /&gt;
* Drywall construction.&lt;br /&gt;
* Fertilizer groundwater pollution.&lt;br /&gt;
* Lime plaster.&lt;br /&gt;
* Minerals of local and national importance.&lt;br /&gt;
* Mortar.&lt;br /&gt;
* Permission for mining or working of minerals.&lt;br /&gt;
* Plaster.&lt;br /&gt;
* Synthetic gypsum.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:DCN_Commentary]] [[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Product_Knowledge]] [[Category:Definitions]] [[Category:Research_/_Innovation]] [[Category:Sustainability]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Editor</name></author>	</entry>

	</feed>