Gypsum Properties Production and Application ebook is available to be downloaded here now.
- Title: Gypsum Properties Production and Application
- Editor: Delia H Sampson
- Publisher: Nova Science
- Pages: 387
Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate and often occurs in nature as flattened and often twinned crystals and transparent cleavable masses called selenite. This new book presents research data from around the globe in the study of gypsum including the mining activity and geotechnical and hydreological issues related to the presence of gypsum in Asturias, Spain; the effects of flue gas desulfurization gypsum on the performances of cement based materials; the biomechanical and biological evidences supporting the in vitro application of gypsum in three decisive spinal surgical processes and luminescence spectroscopy as a sensor for the setting of gypsum plaster.
Gypsum is the most common sulfate mineral on earth and is commonly associatedwith halite, anhydrite, sulfur, calcite and dolomite in recent coastal (sabkha or salina)and/or continental (playa) evaporite deposits. Gypsum can appear as transparent crystals(selenite); fibrous, elongated crystals (stain spar); granular and compact masses(alabaster); and in rosette-shaped aggregates called desert roses. The calcium sulfate-water system occurs as three principal solid phases: gypsum (CaSO.2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4.0.5H2O) and anhydrite (CaSO4).
Only gypsum and anhydrite are stable phases of these three phases. Uncalcined gypsum and calcined gypsum are consumed in large quantities worldwide, principally for use in the construction and agricultural industries.
In buildings, it is used in plaster, plaster of Paris, wallboard, cement, and ceramic tiles. In agriculture, it is used as an amendment to neutralize sodic soils and promote vegetable growth. World resources of gypsum are large and widely distributed. In descending order, the top-producing countries of gypsum in 2009 were China, Iran, Spain, the United States, Thailand, Japan, and Canada. In 2009, crude and uncalined gypsum production in the United States was estimated to be 9.4 and 7.7 million tons, respectively. The average values per metric ton reported by U.S. producers in 2009 were $8.5 for crude gypsum and $40.0 for calcined gypsum. Demand for gypsum products is expected to decrease in the coming decade as housing starts continue to drop.