An international team of scientists has proposed a method for producing high-quality adhesives for the construction industry based on synthetic gypsum derived from industrial waste.
This information was provided by the National University of Science and Technology MISIS.
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Gypsum adhesives are widely used in construction. They are characterized by their lightweight, low thermal and sound conductivity, fire resistance, and high plasticity. Additionally, gypsum-based adhesives are non-allergenic and do not produce dust that leads to silicosis—a disease affecting construction workers and repairmen caused by inhaling silica dust. At the same time, the cost of gypsum materials is low, as is the energy consumption during their production.
A team of researchers from NUST MISIS, the Belarus State Technological University, the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and the University of Limerick (Ireland) has proposed an innovative method for producing high-strength adhesives based on synthetic gypsum obtained from industrial waste.
The researchers diluted sulfuric acid with water from chemical fiber production waste and then neutralized it with limestone waste.
The researchers pointed out that one of the advantages of this gypsum production method is that it does not require significant amounts of electricity.
Valentin Romanovsky, one of the authors of the study from NUST MISIS, stated: “Our method for producing adhesives based on synthetic gypsum will significantly reduce production costs by simplifying the manufacturing technology.”
Tests on the obtained material show that it not only meets all the requirements for materials in this class but also surpasses natural gypsum-based adhesives in several parameters. The results of this research have been published in the international scientific journal Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.
The authors of the study believe that synthetic gypsum, obtained from waste sulfuric acid and limestone, could completely replace natural gypsum for producing gypsum adhesives in countries lacking gypsum reserves.
