2nd Global GypSupply Conference & Exhibition on gypsum supply trends and technology
22 - 23 February 2023, Brussels, Belgium
The second real-world edition of the Global GypSupply Conference and Exhibition on rock, synthetic and recycled gypsum has successfully taken place in Brussels, Belgium, with 65 delegates in attendance from 23 countries. The event was organised in cooperation with Eurogypsum, the European gypsum association.
Jörg Ertle of Etex and Eurogypsum (pictured above) gave a welcome and introduction. An elderly building stock in Europe means continued demand for gypsum based products. The EU intends to be carbon neutral by 2050, with the EU’s Green Deal includes a strong push towards energy-efficient buildings, with 35 million buildings to be renovated by the deadline. Gypsum is a building material of choice for several reasons: it is infinitely recyclable; it is much faster than wet construction methods; it is affordable; it has a relatively low embedded carbon footprint; and it can help to reduce carbon emissions during use. Jörg pointed out that gypsum is a strategic material, which is crucial to a number of industries. 17.5Mt of natural gypsum was used in the European industry in 2021, 7Mt of FGD gypsum and 1.4Mt of recovered gypsum. No coal-based power generation will take place in the EU by 2050, so that new FGD gypsum supply will reduce to zero by the same time. Natural gypsum will inevitably take the place of synthetic gypsum supply, but opportunities are limited, since around 35% of the EU will be protected for nature under the Natura 2000 plan. Mining and quarrying of gypsum will need to show careful consideration for biodiversity and nature in order to retain their ‘license to operate.’ Other industrial sources of synthetic gypsum will become more important, including gypsum from water treatment. Jörg concluded that recycling has had a good start in the EU, but that it has a long way to go.
Vincent Basuyau of DG Grow, part of the European Commission, spoke about the strategic issue of raw materials in the EU. Raw materials in the EU represent well-developed value chains, including plenty of jobs. Global demand for raw materials is likely to double by 2060, and global demand is set to outstrip global supply. The European Raw Materials initiative of 2008 had three ‘pillars’; the first was to diversify global supply at the same time as promoting global sustainable extraction; secondly to improve investment procedures to promote EU resources; and finally to promote circularity and efficient use of resources. Gypsum is not yet on the list of EU critical raw materials, meaning that its supply is not currently in doubt. The supply (and recycling) of lithium for EV batteries will need to be increased by 50x by 2050 in the EU, and there is a possibility that gypsum might be generated during this process. The European Action Plan for Critical Raw Materials, launched in 2020, reiterates the importance of robust supply chains for raw materials, as well as the elimination of distortions in international trade and full compliance with EU international obligations. The Critical Raw Material Act of 2023 will further all of these aims, as well as stockpiling to form strategic reserves of certain raw materials. A ‘Critical Raw Materials Club’ will bring together raw materials consumers and resource-rich countries to foster cooperation.
Joe Harder of OneStone Consulting next gave an outlook for the European plasterboard industry to 2030. Production is expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.5 - 2.5% to 2030. Joe took issue with the suggestion that reusing factory-produced waste is recycling, and in the same way that offcuts at the construction site, never actually used, might be considered as recycling, and instead insisted that they should only be considered as ‘recovered’ materials. The Federal Association of the Germany Gypsum Industry suggests that FGD gypsum production in the EU will cease by 2038. However, Joe pointed out that the rise of renewable power has not displaced coal, but has displaced nuclear and gas instead. In Germany and Poland, coal has increased its share of power generation in the last few years, and FGD gypsum production has not slowed down in the last two years, compared to pre-Covid. Joe forecast that recycled gypsum supply will increase by 2.6x by 2030 to a total of 6Mt in the EU.
Tristan Suffys of Eurogypsum spoke about best practice in gypsum mining in Europe. He first pointed out that nature is in a state of crisis, and is facing a biodiversity emergency. Europe now has a strategy to protect 30% of both land and sea areas by 2030, as well as having a new ‘pollinators strategy.’ Of course, quarrying operations have a huge opportunity to manage biodiversity during mining and after activities have ceased. Temporary ponds can be created during quarrying, as well as leaving areas to provide continuity, and even shifting topsoil and biotas to areas close by, and all can help to preserve biodiversity. Quarry restoration, in order to promote biodiversity, is now essential in quarrying plans in the EU. Tristan suggested that quarrying can actually increase the biodiversity of an area, through the creation of new and varied habitats that were not previously present. Eurogypsum was a partner in the publication of the ‘Extractive Sector Species Protection Code of Conduct.’
Scott Coley of Atritor Ltd next spoke about the company’s dryer-pulveriser machine for milling, drying and classifying rock gypsum. The company’s turbo-separator equipment can alternatively be used to separate gypsum from the facing paper of gypsum board. The solution provides a 99.5% separation efficiency, and Scott mentioned that the key to the process is to not grind the material too finely, or it will be difficult to separate the constituents. The less moisture that the plasterboard has, the better will be the separation efficiency, although up to 10% moisture is not a problem.
At the end of the first day of the event, delegates enjoyed a lively dinner and quiz at the conference hotel, followed by a social at a local brasserie.
Second day
Jean-Luc Marchand, mineral resources director for Saint-Gobain, but speaking at the conference in his role as the chair of Eurogypsum’s Raw Material Committee, was the first speaker on the second day of the conference, on the subject of gypsum recycling in Europe. According to Eurogypsum, 26Mt of gypsum was used in the EU in 2022: 67% was natural rock, 27% was FDG gypsum, 3% was internal recovery and 3% was recycling gypsum. Around 700,000t of construction and demolition waste, CDW, was used as a gypsum source. Jean-Luc suggested that one plant in the EU uses up to 40% recycled gypsum in its raw material supply. He gave details of a French study which suggested that only up to 20% of gypsum supply could be derived from recycling in the future, and he suggested that Germany would have the same situation. He pointed out that to improve these numbers, gypsum companies will need to establish systems for plasterboard collection and logistics, and for processing. “Who pays for that?” He asked. It all depends on the cost of landfilling. When the cost of recycling is higher than the cost of landfilling and the cost of other sources of gypsum, then it becomes uneconomic for the recycler to recycle. He concluded that ‘high quality gypsum waste is crucial for closed loop recycling.’
Maarten Hendriks of New West Gypsum Recycling next gave an overview on European and North American gypsum recycling markets. Maarten pointed out that working with the plasterboard manufacturer is a crucial step towards establishment of successful recycling scheme. For interest’s sake, Maarten had asked ChatGPT to write a section of his presentation. The AI made a few good points, as well as making a number of incorrect or spurious claims, so Maarten switched back to his human-written presentation. He pointed out that when recycled gypsum is used in the cement industry, it is ‘downcycled,’ in that it reduces in value and it never comes back: it is no longer available to the circular economy. The cement industry is also more tolerant of a lower-quality gypsum, which does not tend to encourage higher quality waste recovery. Sweden stipulates that all boards sold on the market must contain at least 17% recycled gypsum, and this has strongly promoted the recycling industry in Scandinavia. France is also ramping up recycling, while the UK already has a major recycling sector, due to the dearth of availability of FGD gypsum. In Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, gypsum is hardly recycled, if at all. Eastern Europe has shown interest in recycling, but actual activity has so far been low. Canada’s recycling sector is relatively well-developed, but the main competitor to recycling is the possibility of cheap landfilling in the US. He pointed out that many US plasterboard plants are not actively recovering board, but instead are stockpiling it in stacks close to the plant. Total volume recycled and recovered for the whole of the US is only 100,000t per year, although shortages of FGD gypsum will eventually be the trigger for higher recycling rates in the US in the coming years. Maarten suggested that recycling of wallboard in the rest of the world is practically non-existent, although there is early interest. He concluded that the most successful areas for recycling are where raw materials prices are going up, where legislation forces recycling rates (and bans or makes landfilling expensive) and where recyclers can work hand in hand with board producers.
Christian Pritzel of the University of Siegen gave the penultimate presentation on the chemical barriers to gypsum recycling. He pointed out that recycling a gypsum crystal, with an intermediate heating stage to 150°C to simulate a plasterboard dryer, leads to a roughening of the crystal surface and more nucleation sites, more branching crystals and smaller new crystals. This leads to different properties, porosity and strength of gypsum-based building materials. The addition of citric acid to the stucco mix will result in shorter crystals with a larger diameter, and lower strength. Retarders and polycarboxylate ethers (PCEs) have different effects, while the combination of different additives can have complex and difficult-to-predict effects on crystal morphologies.
In the final presentation of the conference, Marcus Levermore of Enowa-Neom gave details of a new seawater desalination project that is likely to create significant quantities of synthetic gypsum. Neon is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea, consisting of a number of significant urban and industrial developments, including the Line, the Oxagon, Trojina, and the Southern Cluster. The desalination plant will produce 1Mm3 of water each day, enough for around nine million homes. The plant is designed for zero liquid discharge, and instead of discharging brine will valourise the brine into new products instead, including salts, soda ash, potassium, bromine, lithium and rubidium, magnesium and gypsum. The plant is expected to produce up to 1.8Mt of synthetic gypsum each year, at a purity of >95%, with low Na And Cl, and at less than 10% moisture. First gypsum production is slated for 2027.
Delegates voted for their three favourite presentations on the conference survey: Christian Pritzel was third for his talk on the effects of additives on crystal morphology; Jean-Luc Marchand speaking for Eurogypsum was second with his presentation on the status of recycling in Europe, while Maarten Hendriks of New West Gypsum Recycling was the winner for his global overview of gypsum recycling trends.
Attendees very strongly praised the event for its excellent networking opportunities, the lively discussions (seen below) and the useful knowledge gained.
• Well organized
• Congratulations for the good job.
• Thank you so much for your kind cooperation
• Thank you for authenticity and structured organization with also some appreciated fun
• You are making a good job
• Good conference
• Thank you for great work
