Gypsum industry news

Japan: 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.

UK: Adaptavate has inaugurated its first pilot line to produce Breathaboard bio-based alternative wallboard. Breathaboard performs in the same way as ordinary gypsum wallboard, but sequesters and avoids additional CO₂ emissions, reducing the board’s total carbon footprint by 4kg/m². Adaptavate's production process uses fibrous and cellulosic by-products from agricultural crops, combined with minerals. It has a minimal water footprint and does not require natural gas.

Chief technical officer Jeff Ive said "The commissioning of our pilot line is the culmination of a year's hard work. We knew the solution had to be scalable for significant impact. With full-size boards produced on a continuously extruded process, we’re turning our vision into reality. This pilot line is a game changer for us, our industry, and the planet, laying the foundation for global replication of our core innovation."