
Gypsum industry news
Mexico: Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have developed Sargapanel, a sargassum seaweed-based alternative wallboard. The team says that Sargapanels can replace traditional gypsum-based boards and tiles in wall and ceiling applications. It can also help to clear Mexico’s Caribbean beaches of the common organic deposit.
Sumitomo Osaka Cement uses recycled gypsum wallboard to produce CO2-sequestering circular calcium carbonate
03 March 2025Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has applied for a patent for a method of combining alkali metal hydroxide solutions with CO2 to produce alkali metal salts that react with gypsum to produce calcium carbonate. Energy Weekly News has reported that the developers used gypsum from recycled gypsum wallboard to demonstrate the process.
Study proves scope for Summit County, Colorado, to recycle 33% of construction and demolition materials
21 October 2024US: A study by Resource Recycling Systems found that 33% of construction and demolition materials (CDM) entering landfill in Summit County, Colorado, could be effectively diverted into CDM recycling. Gypsum wallboard was among the 11 materials included in the study. Local press has reported that county authorities aim to reuse or recycle 25% of CDM generated locally by 2028, and 50% by 2035. Landfill capacity will run out in 2078.
CDM constituted 30% of Summit County’s landfill intake during the study period.
Xeriant concludes partnership with compounding facility for Nexboard alternative wallboard development
02 October 2024US: Xeriant has partnered with a ‘leading US-based compounding facility’ for lab-scale production and testing of its Nexboard alternative wallboard. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that the collaboration will centre on modification of Nexboard’s intumescent system. The aim is to increase its fire resistance in line with the NFPA 286 fire test-based safety standard for interior wall and ceiling finishes.
Xeriant CEO Keith Duffy said "This collaboration leverages decades of experience in processing and testing plastic composite formulations. Their vast knowledge base, combined with the ability to produce and test small samples, allows us to compress the product development life cycle, lowering costs and shortening the timeline to full-scale production."
Xeriant nears commercial production of Nexboard alternative wallboard
13 September 2024US: Xeriant will begin to produce its Nexboard alternative wallboard for sale at some time in the near-term future after making further recipe adjustments focused on ensuring fire safety. The company has contracted large-scale production to a ‘well-established’ producer, with which it is currently in the setup stage. It is also in talks with a bank about finance.
CEO Keith Duffy said "After initial fire testing at a national certification laboratory in June 2024, we engaged a polymer chemist to refine Nexboard's composition with a focus on passing the rigorous NFPA 286 fire safety test. This step followed several modifications in the base material and fire-retardant compositions and the finalisation of a production method that ensures the highest-volume, best quality and lowest-cost output. This extensive research and testing over many months has led us to believe that the additional changes will enable Nexboard to meet or even surpass the existing code requirements for building materials used in our targeted applications."
Hormozgan provincial government invests US$455,000 in minerals exploration in first quarter of 2025 financial year
22 July 2024Iran: The government of Hormozgan province invested US$455,000 in surveys for gypsum and other minerals in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year. Trend News has reported that Hormozgan Province presently boasts 300 mines.
Sika opens Suzhou Technology Centre
15 December 2023China: Switzerland-based Sika has opened its new Suzhou Technology Centre in Jiangsu Province. The centre will help Sika to develop its sustainable and high-performance technologies in order to grow it market potential throughout the Asia/Pacific region. By strategically expanding its research and development activities across all core technologies, Sika aims to further strengthen its global innovation leadership.
Chief innovation and sustainability officer Patricia Heidtman said "With our new technology centre, we are strengthening our innovation capabilities in the Asia/Pacific region and are fostering synergies in sustainable construction and environmentally friendly mobility. We have created the ideal framework for close collaboration between our research teams. It will thus enable us to develop forward-looking technologies for our customers that combine sustainability with performance."
Adaptavate raises Euro2.3m in funding to support commercialisation of bio-based alternative wallboard
03 August 2023UK: Adaptavate has raised around Euro2.3m in its latest investment round. This investment round has been led by Counteract, with Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2), Semin and Perivoli Innovations. It follows Adaptavate’s previous seed funding round, announced in March 2022, and subsequent support received to industrialise the development of carbon negative construction materials including developing industrial processes to make low-carbon and carbon absorbing plaster and wallboard.
The company is currently building a development centre, including laboratories and a pilot production, line in Bristol and conducting research to complete testing and licencing programmes for its Breathaboard product. Breathaboard is a gypsum-free wallboard manufactured from compostable crop waste. Adaptavate intends to start use Breathaboard produced on the new line in pilot construction projects by the end of 2023. The new funding will also be used to develop other sustainable building products. The company is additionally looking to licence its technology to the large building products manufacturers and has already started conversations with potential partners.
Tom Robinson, the chief executive officer and founder of Adaptavate, said “This funding round is a pivotal point in the acceleration of Adaptavate and our aim to be the world leader in this space. With the support of like-minded funding partners, we are leading the carbon revolution of building materials as a form of carbon capture and utilisation. What I am most pleased about is that this funding round was oversubscribed, which shows the appetite for near to market, industrially scalable carbon absorbing technologies, even at an economically challenging time.”
US: Fertiliser company Mosaic is seeking approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test using phosphogypsum on a pilot road project at its New Wales site in Mulberry, Florida. It hopes to test using the substance in three 60m sections of road, according to correspondence seen by the Tampa Bay Times newspaper. The proposed test road will use a mixture of sand with up to 50% phosphogypsum in a 25cm base. The road will then be monitored over the next 18 months.
The EPA originally approved the limited use of phosphogypsum in road construction in 2020. However, this was then subsequently blocked. Local legislation in Florida allowing the Florida Department of Transportation to study the use of phosphogypsum in road construction has been approved by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives but is yet to be signed off by Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute estimates that around 1Bnt of phosphogypsum is stored in over 20 sites in the state. Over 25Mt/yr of phosphogypsum is generated, typically from fertiliser production. Environmental groups in the state have opposed Mosaic’s proposed use of phosphogypsum in road building due to its higher level of radioactivity compared to other forms of gypsum.
UK: The European Space Agency, University of Glasgow and others are using France-based Saint-Gobain's Bantycock, Nottinghamshire, quarry to test new drill bit designs for their Drill for Extensive Exploration of Planetary Environments Using Robots (DEEPER) project. The project aims to develop tens-of-metres-long spoolable drill 'strings' to help in the search for water on Mars. Researchers will use their prototypes to drill directly into the mine's gypsum deposits. Saint-Gobain said that the hydrated mineral gypsum provides a similar geological profile to that of Mars.
Gypsum wallboard production by Saint-Gobain subsidiary British Gypsum at its nearby Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, and East Leake, Nottinghamshire, gypsum wallboard plants relies on Bantycock gypsum.