Innovative Type II Anhydrous Gypsum Project Opens New Path for Phosphogypsum Resource Utilization

Recently, at the raw material warehouse of Hubei Yifu Jinchun New Materials Co., Ltd., a reclaimer machine was busy grabbing white phosphogypsum powder and transferring it via conveyor belts to a buffer silo. Afterward, the phosphogypsum undergoes multiple processing steps, including drying, crushing, and ultra-fine grinding, before being turned into finished products for packaging.

The company’s demonstration project for producing 100,000 tons of Type II anhydrous gypsum per year was completed in December 2023. This project was jointly invested and constructed by Yifu Technology Co., Ltd. and Hubei Chuxing Chemical Co., Ltd. Phosphogypsum, one of the major types of industrial solid waste, serves as the raw material for this project.

For a long time, the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum in China has been mainly limited to the production of building materials such as paper-faced gypsum boards, gypsum wall panels, and molds. However, these applications have a relatively limited market capacity and the presence of impurities in phosphogypsum has restricted its further resource utilization. The innovative development and application of Type II anhydrous gypsum provide an effective solution — enabling large-scale consumption of phosphogypsum and realizing its high-value utilization, thus opening up a new pathway for the recycling of industrial solid waste.

After grinding, Type II anhydrous gypsum produces ultra-fine calcium sulfate powder, a new type of powder material with broad application prospects.
Its main uses include:

1. As a filler, replacing high-quality materials such as calcium carbonate and talc powder.

2. As a cementitious material, replacing hemihydrate gypsum in the production of self-leveling mortar.

From a technological innovation perspective, anhydrous calcium sulfate, when used as a filler, offers superior tensile and impact strength compared with conventional calcium carbonate products and also provides a significant cost advantage, making it a promising material for various industrial applications.