Global Gypsum 2022 review

20th Global Gypsum Conference, Exhibition & Awards
2 - 3 November 2022, Lisbon, Portugal

The 20th Global Gypsum Conference, Exhibition and Awards took place 2 - 3 November at the Estoril Congress Centre near Lisbon, Portugal, alongside the 15th Global Insulation Conference, and attracted around 370 delegates in total with around 50 exhibition stands. The conference will next take place in Chicago in 2023.

Joerg Ertle - president Eurogypsum and executive in charge of the central Corporate Social Responsibility activities of Etex - opened the 20th Global Gypsum conference, and mentioned that Eurogypsum has just celebrated its 60 birthday. He went on to describe the working of Eurogypsum, which is based on a number of working groups staffed by participants in the industry. Main groups are raw materials, environment and sustainability and the technical and scientific committee. Joerg pointed out that gypsum is a readily-recyclable mineral, which lends itself to the still-developing circular economy. Joerg pointed out that energy costs have risen by 30 - 40% in the last few months, and prices are expected to stay high for an extended period. Volumes are already being hit by production and product cost hikes. Joerg reminded delegates of the many benefits of gypsum and of insulation, and of lightweight construction in general.

Tristan Suffys, secretary general of Eurogypsum, was the second speaker at the joint event, and he spoke eloquently about the ‘vibes’ of gypsum: that it is versatile, integral (to construction), beautiful, economical and sustainable. The European Green Deal was first proposed in 2019 but has had to be rethought in light of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. However, the ultimate aim of the Green Deal is to ensure that Europe as a whole is climate neutral by 2050. At the moment, the EU is not on course to achieve its aim. Minimum energy performance standards will strongly promote renovation of the worst-performing buildings, boosting wallboard and insulation consumption in the long term. Byproduct gypsum may become available from lithium production in the future. The Saint-Gobain’s plant at Fredrikstad in Norway should become fully electrified by early 2023.
 
Joe Harder from OneStone Consulting then stepped up to present the findings of his company’s forthcoming report ‘Plasterboard Industry Focus 2030’ (PIF 2030). The PIF 2030, which covers 72 wallboard-producing nations, forecasts that the sector will grow from a value of US$17.3bn in 2021 to as much as US$21.3bn in 2025 and then US$27.1bn in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7% expected. China will see moderate growth to 2030, with North America expected to see a slight decline and Europe to remain constant. The bulk of the growth over the next eight years will come from the rest of the world, with market value expected to increase by 4.2%. Regarding wallboard production, the PIF 2030 forecasts a CAGR of 1.6% between 2021 and 2025, rising to a CAGR of 1.7% between 2025 and 2030. This will lead to the production of 13.5Bnm2 in that year if realised. As for capacity, Joe expects capacity utilisation to rise more moderately than capacity utilisation factor, which will increase from 70.9% in 2018 to 76.9% in 2030. In the second part of his presentation Joe focussed on the the EU27+UK market, where production volumes are expected to hit nearly 2Bnm2 by 2030 from around 1.7Bnm2 at present. Wallboard capacity will rise very slightly over the next decade following an absence of new facilities between 2019 and 2022. The presentation then highlighted local examples of gypsum supply, including the effects of new international crude sources in Oman, the effects of coal-fired power plant closures across the EU on synthetic gypsum supplies, as well as the complexity of extracting crude gypsum in this sustainability-conscious market. Joe decried the imminent closure of Germany’s most efficient coal-fired power plant, which exhibits ‘phenomenal’ efficiency compared to others that use coal.
 
Rob Crangle from the United States Geological Survey spoke next, providing the audience with the view from the North American market, specifically the US. Rob outlined that crude gypsum volumes have fallen from the 21.7Mt extracted in 2019 to 21.2Mt in 2020 and 2021, with a drop to 20.8Mt expected for 2022. The decline since 2019 can be attributed to lower numbers of workers available (in part due to Covid-19 effects), consolidation of existing operations and the absence of new quarries. At the same time, crude gypsum prices have risen, from around US$8.60/t in 2019 to an expected US$12.00/t by the close of 2022. The increase in price partly reflects lower volumes being extracted, coupled to rising demand from cement and wallboard producers, as well as rising inflation. Falling crude volumes have been partly off-set by gradual increases in the supply of synthetic gypsum from flue gas desulphurisation, which is expected to hit 15Mt in 2022. US wallboard volumes, meanwhile, reached 2.53Bm2 in 2021, a rise of 4.1% year-on-year from 2020 (2.43Bm²). For the first two quarters of 2022, Robert reported that US wallboard manufacturers produced 1.32Bm2 of wallboard. As seen with raw gypsum prices, wallboard sales prices have risen such that the sector’s sales will reach US$4.1bn in 2022, a 2.5% rise compared to US$4.0bn in 2021. Looking to the future, Robert also looked to new home starts, which hit a 15 year high at 1.6 million in 2021. A total of 1.44 million home starts are expected for 2022, a drop of around 10%, while renovations have now clearly passed their peak.
 
Jeff Warren of GypTech next spoke on advances in technology for wallboard production. Using cleaner energy in the form of green electricity for drying is one step, while improving dryer efficiency with heat exchangers and co-generation, and putting in less water in the first place by using smart additives, all reduce the embodied energy of the board. Greater efficiency in calcination and grinding is crucial, but Jeff pointed out that wallboard is already very energy efficient. Having a sustainable workforce is also crucial, part of which is ‘being a company that people want to work for,’ while more mundane jobs can often be automated. All aspects of gypsum production, from the design of the equipment to the production of the products, is now digitised, allowing sophisticated modelling and optimisation. New instrumentation is required to control the process and Gyptech has approximately 30 new instruments in development. Jeff concluded that AI is coming to gypsum production.
 
Peer Hanneke of Claudius Peters Projects GmbH then spoke about alternative thermal energy generation and energetic optimisation of the calcination system. Peer suggested that the use of natural gas in burners for calcination could be avoided by using either electrical heaters or with the use of hydrogen. Electrical heating is already possible, but higher powers and higher temperatures are more challenging, while hardware costs are higher than for natural gas heaters, perhaps two to three times higher, whereas currently electrical prices are significantly lower than for natural gas. Hydrogen burners are already available on the market, at only slightly higher prices than natural gas, although price per hydrogen megajoule is much higher (but is progressively decreasing). Hydrogen’s energy density is three times lower than for natural gas. Hydrogen can be stored at high pressure for long periods, and requires less space than for natural gas, but is expensive. Ammonia has been mooted as an energy carrier or ‘crude oil-like’ precursor for hydrogen production, which would make transportation and storage easier, although conversion losses make this form of energy even more expensive than direct use of hydrogen. Some combination of these technologies is likely, with local variations. 

The final presentation of the first day was given by Andreas Schieler of Gebr. pfeiffer, who spoke about grinding, drying and calcining in a single vertical roller mill. The Pfeiffer MPS mill is capable of grinding natural, synthetic and recycled gypsum, in a variety of ratios. Process gases are recirculated, along with a hot gas generator, to maximise thermal efficiency. Plant oil, biogas or hydrogen can all be used as fuels. Capacities of over 200t/hr are possible.

After the first day’s programme, delegates boarded buses to attend the Awards Dinner at Arriba, Guincho, a venue perched on a cliff-top overlooking the Atlantic, arriving just in time to see the sunset. The Global Gypsum Awards 2022 were presented at the event.

Second day

On the second day of the conference, Sebastian Scholl of Lutze International spoke about his company’s natural rubber setting/forming belts for gypsum-boards. He said that the belts have to be perfectly flat, with equal thickness along their length, in order to help to form perfect products. After every belt has been produced, Lutze does a pre-inspection and effects any required hot repairs, as well as checking thickness, and friction values on the top surface of the belt. If an endless belt has been ordered, then full documentation about the splicing method and expected lifetime is also provided.
 
Philipp Kunkel of Fagus-GreCon next spoke about x-ray scanning of both insulation and gypsum-boards. An x-ray source shines through the moving material bed, and is detected by a series of detectors under the belt. A resolution down to 1.6mm allows the detection of foreign bodies, but also enables the detection of both high and low densities in the material. This allows great control of the production process, and means that the process can be driven much closer to set points, either to increase production or quality, or to decrease product costs. The instrument can be used at different points in the process, allowing measurement of a variety of parameters and process variables.
 
Niklas Johansson of Gyptech Europe subsequently gave his presentation, “how to save the planet, one gypsum-board dryer at a time.” Dryers historically used coal-heated steam to dry the boards with no recovery of energy from exhaust gases, with an energy requirement of over 1000kCal/kg of water evaporated from the board. Recovery/reuse of the exhaust gas brought down the energy requirement to around 750kCal/kg, while air-to-air heat exchangers brought the requirement down to 650kCal/kg. Adding pre-heating or pre-drying zones, meaning a drying time of up to 80 minutes, would bring the energy consumption down to perhaps 550kCal/kg, but would mean a very large and long dryer. Alternative means need to be sought. Alternative fuels may be used, such as hydrogen, bark and other wood waste, rice husks or other biomass, using indirect heating for fuels that are not suitable for use in the dryer. The use of electricity for drying is a developing field, and if powered by renewables is fully carbon zero. Niklas announced a new patent-pending high-temperature heat pump using Sterling motors and super-heated water at 200°C to reduce energy requirements to around 360-450kCal/kg. The system can be retrofitted onto practically any dryer. A new system based entirely on heat pumps would have an energy requirement of only around 260kCal/kg,with a drying time of only 35 minutes.

Another Johansson, this time Bo, from Limab AB of Sweden, then spoke about non-contact laser measurement of gypsum-boards, for quality, process and environmental improvements. The system can accurately measure all aspects of boards, including edge tapers, and can also be used to measure shrinkage of boards through the dryer. More precise control of board thickness can be used to reduce wasted material, with knock-on reductions in CO₂ emissions.

Dennis Schattauer of Grenzebach next spoke about ‘megatrend greening.’ He pointed out that the environmental impact of industry will need to reduce to net zero by 2050, and said that “the environmental ambition of the Green Deal will not be achieved by acting alone.” Dennis reminded the audience that in a supply squeeze, natural gas supply will be prioritised for households rather for industry - a huge threat that points towards industry becoming more independent from fossil fuels. A conventional dryer has a high demand of thermal energy, typically in the order of 13MW, combined with a high temperature. Grenzebach’s new Ultra-High-Efficiency (UHE) dryer offers a reduction in specific energy consumption of 30%, down to 400 - 450kCal/kg H₂O. A 3D scan of existing factories will ensure proper integration of new equipment. SERICY is Grenzebach’s name for its digitalisation solutions, while the company also offers a full service option round the clock.

Mark Degroote of JBTC next sleyed some myths about automated guided vehicles (AGVs): that a plant has to be technically advanced; that a business is too unique for AGVs; that a plant’s existing systems will not interface with that of the AGVs; or that the plant would be obliged to completely change the way that it operates - all these myths are false. JBT has already automated 20 gypsum wallboard sites, with over one million journeys completed. An average of 11 AVGs are used per site, while each vehicle is capable of lifting up to 4.5t to a height of 7.5m. The laser-guided AGVs are equipped with extensive safety devices and these mobile robots have an excellent track record. Having robots look after the stacking means that there is built-in inventory tracking and ability to quickly and efficiently pick a variety of products for dispatch onwards to customers.

Rosy Scodro and Pierro Rizzi of Comec SRL next gave details of a continuous moulding line for gypsum panels, for which they won the award for Global Gypsum innovation of the year at the preceding night’s awards dinner. The company started in the Italian shoe industry, but has evolved into production of equipment for building materials. The new line can produce up to 5000 gypsum panels each day. The mixer used is similar to that used on a normal wallboard line, disgorging gypsum onto a forming line with continuous edge moulding. The panels are cut and air-dried on racks to avoid any thermal shocks. Edges are milled prior to packing and wrapping on pallets for dispatch.

Dany De Kock of Johns Manville (winner of a ‘Personality of the Year’ award the previous night) next spoke about DuraCore 303 fibreglass fibres, which are able to increase fire-ratings to higher levels than previously, or to the same level with less glass volume, while reducing shrinkage and avoiding problems with slurry viscosity at higher fibre concentrations.

Tomás Vivot from paper manufacturer Alier outlined his company’s aim to become the market leader of recycled paper and plastic and how it was aiming to supply a carbon neutral paper by 2024. He then introduced the company’s Value Added Paper from Alier (VAPA) concept, where it offers a consultation service to help its customers optimise production and reduce costs. He then ran through the company’s portfolio for the gypsum wallboard sector including High Performance products with reduced weight for the same strength as comparable papers, as well as products with water proofing, anti-fungal-, and anti-bacterial properties. In an example of a customer using the company’s High Performance paper he demonstrated that the lower weight allowed for a transport cost saving of Euro60,000/yr. A Hydro Performance product reported a water absorption or Cobb value of below 20g/m2. However, when asked, Vivot would not reveal what process is used to make Alier’s paper repel fungus, comparing the secret to that of the recipe for Coca Cola! He concluded his presentation by describing the company’s progress towards Sustainable Product Purchase Agreements, where it aims to encourage the uptake of sustainable products and practises.

Robert McCaffrey of Global Gypsum Magazine gave a late addition to the programme in the form of his presentation on how the cement industry is changing. His argument was that major cement companies have previously comprised combinations of adjacent production processes centred upon the key steps of cement, aggregate and concrete manufacture because this is where the best earnings reside. However, a mounting list of risks including increasing global carbon and fuel prices and recession fears may be encouraging the larger multinational cement companies to diversify away from cement, aggregate and concrete into connected sectors such as insulation, gypsum wallboard, construction chemicals, roofing and more. Rob McCaffrey gave examples from Holcim, Cemex, CRH, Heidelberg Materials and Votorantim Cimentos and also noted a trend from some of them to divest away from markets in some developing areas. He ended by pointing out that Lafarge’s decision to sell its wallboard business in the early 2010s might come to be viewed with hindsight as a mistake. The first audience question asked which wallboard and/or insulation company might be acquired by a cement company, leading McCaffrey to suggest that an answer “can be best discussed over several beers.”
 
David Appelfeld and Lucie Fraichard of Owens Corning (a company involved in manufacturing insulation, roofing and composites) pointed out that “we cannot build tomorrow with yesterday’s materials.” David pointed out that construction is moving from the massive and heavy to the light: from concrete and bricks to lightweight, high-performance materials and systems, including the use of glass-fibre-mat faced gypsum exterior sheathing boards. Lucie then showed how producers can reduce bleed-through of gypsum through facing glass mat by reducing pre-wetting of paper and by using multiple slurry spreader heads, but also by finely tuning the performance of the glass mat by changing its design and composition. OC is a world-leader in glass technology, and Lucie pointed out that glass-faced mats can be combined with glass fibre reinforcement to improve board performance.

Markus Mueller of Sika Services AG spoke about polycarboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticiser concepts that allow the reduction of water input into gypsum slurries. PCEs  are compatible with FGD gypsum and natural gypsum, and new formulations are more compatible with swelling clays.

The final presentation at the conference was given by Christian Pritzel of the University of Siegen who asked what happens to the various additives when plasterboard is recycled, potentially more than once? Do they influence and interact with each other? Clays in recycling are known from natural gypsum, and producers cope well enough, so that is not the largest problem. Christian pointed out that when pure gypsum crystals are subjected to temperatures of 140°C, typical of a dyer, the crystal faces become flakey, giving the crystal a much higher surface area. When that crystal is then rehydrated and crystals are allowed to grow (akin to a recycling step, the flakes form nucleation sites, leading many smaller crystals to grow. More cycles lead to more surface defects and many more but smaller crystals. Additives strongly affect crystal morphology, but their effects reduce with more heating/rehydration cycles. Dehydrate seeds can act as a ‘catcher’ for some additives. Christian finally concluded that the industry may need to move in the direction of only using additives that can be easily recycled, perhaps additives based just on gypsum.

Farewells and prizes

The awards for best presentation were presented at the Farewell Party at the spectacular Estoril Congress Centre. In third place was Dennis Schattauer of Grenzebach, with Niklas Johansson of Gyptech Europe in second place. However, proving that being last in the programme is sometimes not a disadvantage, the best presentation prize went to Christian Pritzel of the University of Siegen.

The conference was strongly praised by attendees, with 91% being satisfied with the event’s Covid testing regime, and others lauding the networking opportunities, gala dinner and technical programme.

The 21st Global Gypsum Conference will take place in November 2023 in Chicago.