Gypsum industry news

UK: Adaptavate and the University of Bath have produced alternative gypsum-free wallboard from compostable crop waste. The partners have received funding from the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) for a six-month pilot project of production of their prototype wallboard, called Breathaboard. It uses the natural properties of bacteria to form a board with similar properties to gypsum wallboard. The producers claim that it is both lighter and more insulative than gypsum wallboard. They hope to scale up production and market Breathaboard as an environmentally friendly alternative to gypsum wallboard, as it does not require gypsum extraction or flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) at coal-fired power plants.

Project leader Susanne Gebhard said “This is an exciting project that will see whether we can exploit the natural biofilm-forming abilities of bacteria to function as a kind of glue that will help improve the properties of biodegradable construction materials.”