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Gypsum | Uses, Properties, Facts
What is Gypsum?
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral, composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate. Gypsum is an evaporite mineral most commonly found in layered sedimentary deposits in association with halite, anhydrite, sulfur, calcite, and dolomite. Gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O) is very similar to Anhydrite (CaSO4). The chemical difference is that gypsum contains two waters and anhydrite is without water. Gypsum is the most common sulfate mineral. A massive fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, called alabaster, has been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the Nottingham alabasters of Medieval England.
Gypsum Production and Resources Worldwide
The total global production of gypsum from mines in 2020 amounted to an estimated 150 million metric tonnes. This quantity is a notable decrease from the 2016 production volume of 261 million metric tonnes. As the world’s largest producer of gypsum, the U.S. also has the world’s largest reserves of gypsum. In 2020, U.S. gypsum reserves totaled some 700 million metric tonnes.
In 2020, the world’s largest producer of gypsum from mines was the United States, with a production volume amounting to 22 million metric tonnes. The next-largest global gypsum producer is a tie between Iran and China, both producing 16 million metric tonnes that year, with Turkey and Thailand following in top 5 world producers.
(Sources: US National Mining Association, US Geological Survey, Statista GmbH, Eurogypsum aisbl, Wikipedia).
Gypsum's Main Uses and Applications
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Architectural uses (wall board, plaster of Paris)
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Absorbents (ground control, drainage)
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Floor Screen (Gypsum Cement)
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Decorative (Decorative stone, plaster castings)
Gypsum main uses include: manufacture of wallboard/ drywall, cement, plaster of Paris, soil conditioning, a hardening retarder in Portland cement. Gypsum is also used in fertilizer, as well as blackboard and sidewalk chalk, among other products.
Varieties of gypsum known as "satin spar" and "alabaster" are used for a variety of ornamental purposes; however, their low hardness limits their durability.
Gypsum can be milled mixed with water and then resume its original rock-like state. This means it can be shaped and hardened. Gypsum also has a “closed recycling loop”, meaning it can be endlessly recycled while maintaining a high quality.
Gypsum in Canada
Approximately 75% of Canadian production comes from Nova Scotia; Ontario, Manitoba and BC also produce gypsum. Wallboard manufacturers are located in these provinces as well as in Québec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Alberta. Crude gypsum is a low-cost, high-bulk mineral commodity.
The present structure of the gypsum industry in Canada is expected to remain about the same, although future availability of synthetic gypsum resulting from more strenuous environmental controls will substitute for natural gypsum in some regions. The recycling of scrap and waste gypsum from construction sites and wallboard manufacturing lines will continue to become more important in both Canada and the US.
(Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia).
