Towards sustainable solution-driven recycling of gypsum

  • Calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4ᐧ0.5H2O), also known as bassanite, has been used as a precursor to produce gypsum (dihydrate, CaSO4ᐧ2H2O) for various construction and decorative purposes since prehistoric times. The main route to obtain hemihydrate is a thermal treatment of gypsum at temperatures typically between 150 °C and 200 °C to remove some of the structural water. In this contribution, we introduce (Fig. 1) a more efficient and sustainable method (T < 100 °C) that enables the direct, rapid, and reversibly conversion of gypsum to bassanite using reusable high salinity aqueous solutions (brineswith c[NaCl] > 4 M). The optimum conditions for the efficient production of bassanite in a short time (< 5 min) involve the use of brines with c(NaCl) > 4 M and maintaining a temperature, T > 80 °C. When the solution containing bassanite crystals is cooled down to around room temperature, eventually gypsum is formed. When the temperature is raised again to T > 80 °C, bassanite is rapidlyCalcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4ᐧ0.5H2O), also known as bassanite, has been used as a precursor to produce gypsum (dihydrate, CaSO4ᐧ2H2O) for various construction and decorative purposes since prehistoric times. The main route to obtain hemihydrate is a thermal treatment of gypsum at temperatures typically between 150 °C and 200 °C to remove some of the structural water. In this contribution, we introduce (Fig. 1) a more efficient and sustainable method (T < 100 °C) that enables the direct, rapid, and reversibly conversion of gypsum to bassanite using reusable high salinity aqueous solutions (brineswith c[NaCl] > 4 M). The optimum conditions for the efficient production of bassanite in a short time (< 5 min) involve the use of brines with c(NaCl) > 4 M and maintaining a temperature, T > 80 °C. When the solution containing bassanite crystals is cooled down to around room temperature, eventually gypsum is formed. When the temperature is raised again to T > 80 °C, bassanite is rapidly re-precipitated. This contrasts with the typical behaviour of the bassanite phase in low salt environments. Traditionally, hemihydrate is obtained through a solid state thermal treatment because bassanite is considered to be metastable with respect to gypsum and anhydrite in aqueous solutions, and therefore gypsum-to-bassanite conversion should not occur in water. Its very occurrence actually contradicts numerical thermodynamic predictions regarding solubility of calcium sulfate phases. By following the evolution of crystalline phases with in situ and time-resolved X-ray diffraction/scattering and Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the phase stability in brines at elevated temperatures is inaccurately represented in the thermodynamic databases. Most notably for c(NaCl) > 4 M, and T > 80 °C gypsum becomes readily more soluble than bassanite, which induces the direct precipitation of the latter from gypsum. The fact that these transformations are controlled by the solution provides extensive opportunities for precise manipulation of crystal formation. Our experiments confirmed that bassanite remained the sole crystalline structure for many hours before reverting into gypsum. This property is extremely advantageous for practical processing and efficient crystal extraction in industrial scenarios.zeige mehrzeige weniger

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Autor*innen:Tomasz Stawski
Dokumenttyp:Vortrag
Veröffentlichungsform:Präsentation
Sprache:Englisch
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung:2025
Organisationseinheit der BAM:6 Materialchemie
6 Materialchemie / 6.3 Strukturanalytik
DDC-Klassifikation:Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Sanitär- und Kommunaltechnik; Umwelttechnik
Freie Schlagwörter:Calcium sulfate; Gypsum; SAXS; Scattering
Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM:Material
Material / Materialdesign
Umwelt
Umwelt / Circular Economy
Veranstaltung:RAL-SAS - UK Small angle scattering meeting 2025
Veranstaltungsort:Oxford, United Kongdom
Beginndatum der Veranstaltung:16.06.2025
Enddatum der Veranstaltung:18.06.2025
Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments:Datei im Netzwerk der BAM verfügbar ("Closed Access")
Datum der Freischaltung:12.11.2025
Referierte Publikation:Nein
Eingeladener Vortrag (wissenschaftliche Konferenzen):Nein
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