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Balancing Supply and Demand of
Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum in USA/Canada
Robert
B. Bruce, PhD1, David L. Tackett, P.E.2
Presented
at Mega Symposium; Washington DC, USA, August 2004
Presented at Gypsum and Fly Ash 2004; Toronto, Canada, June 2004
Abstract:
Over the past few
years, byproduct gypsum from electric utility flue gas desulfurization
(FGD) systems has replaced natural gypsum in many of the gypsum wallboard
plants across
North
America.
Installation of FGD scrubbers will continue into the future because of new
environmental rules. This will result in more high quality gypsum being
produced and disposed of each year. Environmental agencies have set goals
for utilization of coal combustion products such as FGD gypsum rather than
landfill. This paper illustrates the supply/demand imbalance that will
develop using current usage patterns, as well as highlight the future
trends and new technologies that could bring this into balance. Over the
next 20 years the North American supply of byproduct gypsum is going to
exceed the demand by a wide margin, with a surplus of 10 - 15 million tons
per year by 2015. This byproduct gypsum should not be considered a low
value waste product, like wet sand. There are several high volume
applications that could use this material and take advantage of its
inherent chemical properties. The economics are such that both producer and
consumer could benefit from this approach, with our natural environment
being the ultimate benefactor. One of the most promising high volume
applications is the low cost production of alpha hemihydrate/gypsum cement.
Alpha hemihydrate is a high strength gypsum plaster that sells for $250 -
$800 per ton depending on the quality and the application. There are
numerous recent patents/papers that cover the manufacture of alpha gypsum
with the likelihood that the incremental cost to produce this material
could be $35 - $50 per ton. This would open up many new markets for this
high performance material and bring the demand of this byproduct gypsum into
balance with supply.
Please
contact us for publication pricing and
availability.
1Innogyps Inc., Unit 122,
7
Innovation Drive,
Flamborough,
Ontario,
L9H7H9,
Canada
2Tailored Business Solutions,
LLC, 479 Hickory Hollow Dr., Canfield, Ohio 44406-1050.
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