Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Pressured recycled gypsum plaster and wastes: Characteristics

of eco-friendly building components
Rodrigo H. Geraldo a,b, Janaína D. Souza a, Sofia C. Campos a, Luiz F.R. Fernandes a,c, Gladis Camarini a,d,⇑
a
School of Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Urban Design, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Rua Saturnino de Brito, 224, Campinas, São Paulo CEP 13083-889, Brazil
b
Sorocaba Engineering School (FACENS), Rodovia Senador José Ermírio de Moraes, 1425, Castelinho km 1,5, Alto da Boa Vista, Sorocaba, São Paulo CEP 18087-125, Brazil
c
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Sul de Minas (IFSULDEMINAS), Praça Tiradentes, 416, Inconfidentes, Minas Gerais CEP 37576-000, Brazil
d
University Center of Minas South (UNIS), Avenida Alzira Barra Gazzola, 650, Bairro Aeroporto, Varginha, Minas Gerais CEP 37031-099, Brazil

h i g h l i g h t s

Gypsum plaster (commercial – CGP and recycled – RGP) was mixtured with waste.

Uniaxial loading-pressure was applied to mold the specimens.

Results show good mechanical performance of CGP or RGP with waste.

Loading-pressure specimen is a good technique to precast bricks and blocks.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of this paper is to study some characteristics of a component to buildings made with gyp-
Received 2 June 2017 sum plaster (commercial – CGP and recycled – RGP), and wastes (red ceramic – RC and porcelain – PW)
Received in revised form 25 January 2018 by loading-pressure. Bricks were prepared with a solid mass composition containing 50% (by weight) of
Accepted 27 September 2018
binder, 50% (by weight) of waste, and very small water/dried powder ratio (0.22). Specimens were
Available online 9 October 2018
molded with uniaxial loading-pressure (10 kN) before setting times. Compressive and flexural strengths,
porosity, and microstructure were evaluated. The compressive results were in the range of 12.3 and
Keywords:
33.9 MPa, higher than the minimum required by Brazilian Standards to building components
Gypsum plaster
Recycled gypsum plaster
(2.5 MPa). The low water/solid mass ratio and the uniaxial loading-pressure before setting times con-
Gypsum plaster waste tribute to decreasing the porosity, which was shown in the dense microstructure. The obtained results
Composite show that these components present a good quality building component.
Red ceramic waste Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Porcelain waste
Sustainability

1. Introduction Gypsum plaster (calcium sulfate hemihydrate) is a material lar-

Building components production, such as those based in cement
Portland and red ceramic, consumes energy and pollutes the envi-
ronment [1]. The use of wastes on alternative materials for build-
ing components can provide products of quality with lower costs
and energy consumption [2].
Some studies already reported the feasibility to make compos-
ites with gypsum plaster and waste materials [3–6]. Based on these
findings, this study used two different industrial wastes in mix-
tures made with commercial and recycled gypsum plaster: red
ceramic waste (RC) and porcelain waste (PW).
⇑ Corresponding author at: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Urban
Design, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Rua Saturnino de Brito, 224, Campinas,
São Paulo CEP 13083-889, Brazil.
E-mail address: camarini@fec.unicamp.br (G. Camarini).
gely employed in civil construction. It is produced by the calcina-
tion of the mineral gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) in low
temperatures related to other binders. The gypsum plaster can also
be produced from recycling natural gypsum and/or synthetic gyp-
sum, such as phosphogypsum from the production of phosphoric
acid, FDG gypsum from power plant flue gas desulfurization units,
fluorogypsum from hydrofluoric acid industry and others [7–10].
In the calcination process, the dihydrate loses water to become
hemihydrate [11,12]. When the hemihydrate is in contact with
water the hydration and the crystallization process occur and the
material harden and acquires strength [13].
The gypsum plaster can be considered as a low energy
environmental-friendly binder [14]. The calcination temperature
for gypsum plaster production is low, in the range of 125 °C –
180 °C, it loses water vapor and the carbon dioxide emissions come
from the kiln heat [12].

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.09.193
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144 137

A large amount of gypsum plaster waste (GPW) is generated CGP was used without any pretreatment. RGP was obtained
during the production and application of gypsum plaster in civil from GPW generated by local construction sites. GPW was col-
construction. GPW is a non-inert material with potential to con- lected, sun-dried to remove the moisture, and manually crushed
taminate the groundwater [15]. The sulfate in landfills can be con- with a rubber hammer. Thereafter, the material was grinding
verted to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) under anaerobic conditions which through a hammer mill crusher with 80% of the passing particles
can cause odor problems to landfill employers or surrounding res- lower than 0.297 mm. The resultant powder was homogenized
idents, and also pipe corrosion [16]. and calcined in a stationary kiln at a constant temperature
GPW can be reused or recycled, having similar performance (150 °C ± 5 °C) for 1 h. After calcination, the powder material was
than the original gypsum plaster [7,17]. GPW calcination demands homogenized again and RGP was ready to be used.
low energy consumption. Suárez et al. [18] showed that the energy Table 1 shows the chemical composition and the physical char-
spent on gypsum recycling process is 65% lower than the one con- acteristics of CGP, RGP, RC, and PW. Figs. 1 and 2 show the particle
sumed to obtain natural gypsum. Camarini et al. [19] showed that size distribution and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the
when properly calcined, the energy consumption to GPW recycling materials, respectively.
(447.12 kcal/tonne) is similar to natural gypsum production The chemical composition was obtained by X-ray Fluorescence
(439.65 kcal/tonne). (XRF). The analysis were conducted with a wavelength dispersive
Ceramic materials are produced by the mixture of clay, sand X-ray spectrometer (Shimadzu XRF 1800). Particle size distribution
and other natural materials which are fired in the range of and bulk density were made according to [33], and specific gravity
1000 °C – 1250 °C to make bricks and tiles. They represent a large according to [34].
volume of the total construction and demolition wastes generated XRD patterns were collected in a Philips Analytical X-ray
worldwide [20,21]. Red ceramic waste (RC) is generated during (model X’Pert-MPD) with Cu-Ka radiation (1.54060 Å), 40 kV,
production and using bricks and tiles in buildings. The landfill dis- 40 mA, and in the 2h range of 10–60°. Inorganic Crystal Structure
posal of RC is still common [21,22]. Only in Brazil, the annual gen- Database (ICSD) was used to identify the crystalline phases.
eration of RC is estimated at 6.5 million tonnes/year [23]. The chemical composition of CGP and RGP did not show signif-
Porcelain waste (PW) used in this study comes from electric icant differences and the main compounds are SO3 and CaO. The
insulator wastes. Globally, there is a high demand by electric insu- wastes main compounds are SiO2 and Al2O3. After the recycling
lator and a large quantity of waste is generated, which is mainly process, the chemical characteristics of gypsum plasters are similar
composed of porcelain [24,25]. PW is a dense and hard material, to the commercial ones, with changes in some physical properties
and the correct final disposal is an important issue for producer
industries [26,27]. The generation of PW in Brazil is in order of
25,000 tonnes/year, and in Japan, only one industry generated Table 1
3700 tonnes in 2015 [28,29]. Compositions and physical properties of CGP, RGP, RC, and PW.
The use of the wastes as raw materials contributes to the sus- Elemental composition (%) CGP RGP RC PW
tainable development and decreases natural resources consump-
SiO2 0.15 0.15 63.50 71.71
tion [30]. RC and PW were already employed in the production Al2O3 0.08 0.05 12.06 13.62
of building materials. Studies reported the use of RC as a pozzolan K2O 0.05 0.04 6.21 5.47
addition in Portland cement and in alkali-activated binder, and as Fe2O3 0.05 0.02 10.94 2.06
TiO2 – – 1.49 0.57
fine and coarse aggregate in concrete [20,28,31,32].
MgO 0.02 0.06 1.55 0.24
San-Antonio-González et al. [5] reported the feasibility of pro- P2O5 0.71 0.74 0.89 0.81
ducing gypsum plaster composites incorporating RC. The authors CaO 27.04 27.80 1.18 1.59
obtained materials for interior cladding walls with properties Na2O 0.54 0.80 – 0.46
(mechanical strength, hardness, and capillary water absorption) SO3 60.79 62.07 – –
LOI 10.33 8.00 1.66 3.00
that reached the minimum requirements established by Standards
Others 0.24 0.27 0.52 0.47
to be applied in buildings. Physical properties
The present work studied some properties of building materials Specific gravity (kg/m3) 2610 2570 2650 2550
made with commercial and recycled gypsum plasters, RC, and PW Bulk density (kg/m3) 648 280 1120 1097
by loading-pressure. While previous studies reported the produc- CGP = commercial gypsum plaster, RGP = recycled gypsum plaster, RC = red ceramic
tion of building materials made with commercial gypsum plaster waste, PW = porcelain waste
and wastes, the present paper tested the use of wastes also with
recycled gypsum plaster. The materials were produced by the
application of uniaxial loading-pressure before the initial setting
and some properties, such as compressive and flexural strengths,
porosity, TG/DTA, and microstructure were investigated.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Materials

The materials used in the study were commercial gypsum plas-

ter (CGP), recycled gypsum plaster (RGP), RC, PW, and water from
the municipal supply.
RC used in the study is composed of grounded red ceramic tiles
waste. The material was used without any pretreatment. PW was
obtained from a Brazilian insulator industry. The material was
crushed, milled until obtaining a fine powder, sieved (95% passed
on a 45 lm sieve), homogenized, and stored in a sealed container. Fig. 1. Sieve analysis.
138 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144

Legend:
CGP = commercial gypsum plaster, RGP = recycled gypsum plaster, RC = red ceramic waste,
PW = porcelain waste.
A = albite; B = bassanite; G = gypsum; M = mullite; Q = quartz; R = rutile; S = sillimanite
Fig. 2. XRD patterns of CGP, RGP, RC, and PW.

Table 2
Mixtures design of samples produced by the application of uniaxial loading-pressure before the initial setting.

Mixture Solid mass composition (wt%) W/SM Maximum load (kg)

CGP RGP RC PW
CGP 100 – – – 0.22 1000
RGP 100 – – –
CPG + RC 50 – 50 –
CGP + PW 50 – – 50
RGP + RC – 50 50 –
RGP + PW – 50 – 50

CGP = commercial gypsum plaster; RGP = recycled gypsum plaster; RC = red ceramic waste; PW = porcelain insulator waste; W/SM = water/solid mass ratio.

of the recycled material. The bulk density of CGP is more than 2
times higher than the RGP.
XRD of RC and PW show three different phases. RC has the crys-
talline phases: quartz (PDF# 01-085-0457 46-1045), albite (PDF#
01-071-1151 10-393), and rutile (PDF# 16-934). PW had the
phases: quartz (PDF# 01-085-0457 46-1045), sillimanite (PDF#
01-074-0274 38-471), and mullite (PDF# 01-073-1389 15-776).
CGP has bassanite (PDF# 01-083-0439 41-224), and RGP has bas-
sanite and a small peak of gypsum (PDF# 01-086-0944 36-432)
observed at 11.5° 2h.
2.2. Experimental mixtures
Different proportions of the binder and waste were initially
investigated. The best experimental mixture was obtained by some
trials.
The first trial was 75% (by weight) (wt%) of binder and 25% (wt
%) of waste (solid mass). The mixture resulted in high compressive
strength, but it had low workability (the pastes stick on molding
apparatus) and after drying, the specimens had cracks.
In order to improve the workability and eliminate the cracks, it
was made a second trial with 50% (wt%) of binder and 50% (wt%) of
waste (solid mass). This mixture containing the same quantity of
binder and waste in mass percentage had better workability and
the specimens did not have cracks.
A third trial was made with 25% (wt%) of binder and 75% (wt%)
of waste (solid mass). The mixture had a very low compressive
strength and the specimens fragmented with handling.
The mixtures of the first and third trials were discharged and
the work was continued with the mixture proportion of the second
trial, which is composed of 50% (wt%) of binder and 50% (wt%) of
waste, considering the solid mass. The specimens were molded
with a water/solid mass ratio of 0.22, a value close to the minimum
required to gypsum plaster hydration that is about 17% (wt%) [35].
The water/solid mass ratio was also established after some trials
with different ratios. The objective was to use the lowest ratio, cap-
able to completely hydrate the gypsum plaster and provide the
required workability to mold the specimens. Table 2 shows the
mixture compositions and the identifications of the samples.
Fig. 3 shows the specimens production process, which is com-
posed of five different steps: A) the powders in dry state (gyp-
sum + waste) were mixture and homogenized; B) part of the
mixing water was applied on a sponge on the bottom of the mold;
C) the dry and homogenized mixture was powdered on the sponge;
D) remained water was added and the specimens were molded by
uniaxial loading-pressure until reach the maximum specified load
 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144 139

Legend:
CGP = commercial gypsum plaster, RGP = recycled gypsum plaster, RC = red
ceramic waste, PW = porcelain waste.
Fig. 3. Steps of specimen production.

of 10 kN; E) the samples were demolded and cured at ambient con-
ditions until testing ages (average temperature of 25 °C ± 5 °C and
relative humidity of 60%). In Fig. 3F is shown a sample of the pro-
duced brick.
The uniaxial loading-pressure was made by a hydraulic press
(Marconi MPH10S with 100 kN capacity). It was used a mold with
thick wall and a force to mold the specimens.
mined with the Vicat apparatus according to Brazilian Standard
[36]. The setting was counted from the mixture of powder and
water. The test was made with a water/solid mass ratio of 0.6 (nec-
essary to achieve some workability to mold the sample). For this
test, the samples were manually prepared (with no loading-
pressure).

2.3.2. Compressive and flexural strengths

2.3. Methods Compressive and flexural strengths were performed at the ages
of 7, 28, and 56 days (Versa Tester machine, maximum load of 150
2.3.1. Setting times kN).
To understand how the waste addition could affect the binder Prismatic specimens (30 mm width x 30 mm thickness x
setting, the initial and final setting times of the blends were deter- 100 mm length) were molded for compressive strength test. The
140 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144
compressive strength was evaluated in both specimen edges (two
results for each brick) by dividing the maximum load by the
applied load area.
Prismatic specimens (30 mm width x 15 mm thickness x
100 mm length) were molded for flexural strength test. There is
no Brazilian Standard for gypsum flexural strength analysis of this
kind of specimen. So, the tests followed the ASTM C 78-02 [37] that
allows using this specimen dimension to the test. Thus, flexural
strength was obtained by the three-point-bending test, and the
distance of the supporting cylinders was 84.68 mm.
The results of flexural and compressive strengths were statically
analyzed by multiple comparisons of averages.
The tests made were: analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Scott-
Knott multiple comparison test with a 95% confidence limit to
compare the group of means. Scott-Knott test was applied using
the SisvarÒ software.
ANOVA test results are necessary to show that there is a signif-
icant difference among the data set considering compressive or
flexural strength results.
Scott-Knott test was applied to compare the group of means.
The method has the advantage of separating the averages into dis-
crete groups, without superimposing them. In this work, the Scott-
Knott data are the medium values of flexural and compressive
strengths obtained from the specimens at different ages. In this
test, no mean can belong to more than one group; the test determi-
nes the constitution of different groups, whenever significance is
found in ANOVA. The Scott-Knott test interpretation consists of let-
ters distribution (upper case and lower case) organized according
to the original group of treatments. Same upper case letters or
lower case letters indicate similar statistics results.
2.3.3. Total water absorption and voids
The effect of loading-pressure and wastes addition in porosity,
total water absorption and voids were evaluated as follows. At
the age of 28 days, the specimens were oven-dried (40 °C ± 2 °C)
for 120 h and after air-cooling to room temperature, the dry weight
was obtained (Dm). Thereafter, the specimens were immersed in
water (23 °C ± 2 °C) for 3 h in a container with a vacuum pump
installed to remove the entrapped air and accelerate the process,
since the gypsum plaster does not resist long period immersed in
water. The saturated mass of the specimens immersed in water
(Sb) was obtained using a hydrostatic scale. Then, the specimens
were removed from the water and their surfaces were dried with
a cloth and weighted, obtaining the saturated mass (Sm).
Total water absorption (Wa) and voids (Vo) were calculated by
Eqs. (1) and (2), respectively.
Wa ¼ 100ðSm  Dm Þ=Dm
Vo ¼ 100ðSm  Dm Þ=ðSm  Sb Þ
where: Wa = total water absorption (%); Vo = voids (%);
Dm = oven-dried mass of the specimen (kg); Sb = saturated mass of
the specimen immersed in water (kg); and Sm = saturated mass of
the specimen (kg).
The tests were performed on prismatic specimens (30 mm x
30 mm x 100 mm). The result is the average of three specimens
of each composition. Specimens were produced in the conven-
tional way (no pressing charges) using a cubic mold (50 mm x
50 mm x 50 mm) and a water/gypsum plaster ratio of 0.6. These
were made to compare the effect of uniaxial loading-pressure on
porosity characteristics.
2.3.4. TG/DTG analysis and SEM observations
To observe possible chemical changes in experimental mix-
tures, the thermal behavior was determined on about 15 mg using
a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA-50 M Shimadzu). A heating
rate of 10 °C.min1 was used from room temperature to 1000 °C
under a nitrogen flow of 50 mL.min1. TG and DTG curves were
plotted on the calcined sample mass basis to compare results on
a same composition basis. This analysis can contribute to under-
standing if the RC and PI could have any react with gypsum or only
acts as filler materials.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) by secondary electron
images of some specimens were obtained (SEM-EDX LEO Electron
Microscopy/Oxford 440i with 20 kV and 100 pA). The samples
were analysed with 7 days and they were coated with gold before
SEM observations. A specimen produced in the conventional way
(no pressing charge) containing a water/gypsum plaster ratio of
0.6 was also observed by SEM. This specimen was made to observe
the microstructure differences between specimens with and with-
out uniaxial loading-pressure.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Setting times
Fig. 4 presents the setting time results of the gypsum mixtures.
From these results it was observed that RC and PW retard the set-
ting times. The results are in accordance with those obtained by
Khalil et al. [4].
The longer setting times in samples with RC or PW occur
because the mixtures have less quantity of binder to react with
water and thus the reaction develops slower. The total increase
of setting times was so calculated and the results are shown in
Table 3.
Table 3 data shows that the waste addition affects more the CGP
setting development than the RGP one. In both gypsum types, the
RC increased the setting time at a higher rate than PW. In all of the
ð1Þ
ð2Þ
Fig. 4. Setting times results of gypsum and waste mixtures with water/gypsum
plaster ratio of 0.6 and no pressing.
Table 3
Increase in setting times results of samples with waste when compared to the
respective gypsum plaster samples (CGP or RGP).
Mixture Increase in setting time (%)
Initial Final
CGP + RC 92 60
CGP + PW 67 52
RGP + RC 55 9
RGP + PW 23 9
CGP = commercial gypsum plaster; RGP = recycled gypsum plaster; RC = red cera-
mic waste; PW = porcelain insulator waste; W/SM = water/solid mass ratio.
 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144 141

mixtures the effect was more sensitive to initial than final setting Table 4
times. In the mixtures with recycled gypsum plaster and waste Scott-Knott test with 5% of significance.

(RGP + RC and RGP + PW) the final setting times were very close Mixture Age (days)
to those presented by the mixture made only with recycled gyp- 7 28 56
sum plaster (RGP). In this case, the waste addition resulted in an
Compressive strength
increase of the setting time of only 9%. CGP 26.1 a A 33.9b A 29.98c A
As expected, the recycled gypsum plaster sets faster than the CGP + RC 15.2 a B 16.0 a B 18.82b B
commercial one [38]. Setting time is an important parameter for CGP + PW 14.1 a B 14.3 a B 14.9 a C
building components industries. The fast setting is desirable RGP 14.5 a B 14.9 a B 13.2 a C
RGP + RC 15.2 a B 16.0 a B 18.8b B
because it allows a higher stability in a short period of time,
RGP + PW 16.2 a B 12.3b B 14.8 a C
increasing the productivity. The low water/solid mass ratio used
in components molded by uniaxial loading-pressure contributes Row data: the same lowercase letters indicate similar statistical results (strength
evolution with curing time).
to a faster gypsum plaster setting. Gypsum plaster building compo-
Column data: the same uppercase letters indicate similar statistical results
nents made in the conventional way require more water for work- (strength values among the groups).
ability during production, which result in longer setting times [35].

3.2. Mechanical properties
3.2.1. Compressive strength
Fig. 5 shows the compressive strength results. The statistical
analysis by Scott-Knott test was applied to compare the group of
means at different ages (Table 4).
The Scott-Knott data are composed of the mean values of com-
pressive and flexural strengths obtained from the specimens at dif-
ferent ages. In the rows, the same lower case letters indicate
similar statistical results (strength evolution with age). In the col-
umn, the same upper case letters indicate similar statistical results
(strength values among the groups). The same letter can be upper-
case or lowercase and they are used to differentiate operations. For
e.g., the letter ‘‘A” (uppercase letter) and the letter ‘‘a” (lowercase
letter) are used only to differentiate operations. The important
thing is to use the same encoding in all tables for an easy
interpretation.
CGP had the highest results for flexural and compressive
strengths at all ages. CGP had higher mechanical properties than
RGP, which was also observed by Bardella and Camarini [17] in
pastes molded with no loading-pressure charge.
The addition of wastes decreased the compressive strength of
CGP specimens. At the age of 28 days, the compressive strength
of CPG + RC and CPG + PW decreased 52.7% and 58.3%, respectively,
when compared to CGP. These results are in accordance with Eires
et al. [3] and San-Antonio-González et al. [5], which also reported
the strength loss with the addition of waste in gypsum plaster
composites production.
The results show that RGP did not have a significant strength
loss with the addition of waste. Scott-Knott test showed that
RGP + RC or RGP + PW had similar results with RGP, even contain-
ing 50 wt% less binder.
The specimens that contain RC had better performance than
those made with PW in all proposed mixtures at the age of 56 days.
All the mixtures had low variations on strengths with age. The 28-
day compressive strengths were between 12.3 MPa and 33.9 MPa.
The compressive strength results of all mixtures were higher than
the minimum required for some building components: ceramic
bricks (1.5 MPa), soil cement bricks (2.0 MPa) and concrete
block (2.5 MPa). The results are also higher than the minimum
value required by Brazilian Standard for gypsum plaster that
is 8.4 MPa [39]. These results indicate a possible application of
these mixtures for interior cladding walls, partition walls, plates
for ceiling, and other precast components.
Compressive strength results of RGP + RC at 28 days were
slightly higher to those achieved by San-Antonio-González et al.
[5] with gypsum composites containing RC and made with com-
mercial gypsum plaster (CGP).
The ANOVA test to compressive strength results (F 23.73, P-
value 3.01-5 and F crit 3.325) shows that there is a significant dif-
ference among the data set (P-value  0.05 and Fcrit < F).
Considering the Scott-Knott test for compressive strength, the
results showed low changes with time (lower case letters in the
rows). The samples CGP + PW, GGP + RC, RGP, RGP + PW, and
RGP + RC reached similar statistical values at 7 and 28 days, which
indicate no strength development over time. In CGP + PW and RGP
mixtures the maximum compressive strength was already
achieved in 7 days.
The statistical results between the tested groups confirm that
the wastes decreased the compressive strength of the specimens
made with CGP. However, the addition of RC and PW on mixtures
made with RGP did not affect their mechanical performance (upper
case letters in the columns).

3.2.2. Flexural strength

Fig. 5. Compressive strength results. The lines indicate some examples of values
required by Brazilian Standards to different building components.
Fig. 6 shows the compressive strength results. The statistical
analysis by Scott-Knott test was applied to compare the group of
means at different ages (Table 5).
The addition of wastes decreased the flexural strength of CGP
specimens. At 28 days, the strength of CPG + RC and CPG + PW
decreased 27.3% and 39.2%, respectively, when compared to CGP,
and confirmed by Eires et al. [3] and San-Antonio-González et al. [5].
The ANOVA test to flexural strength results (F 11.40, P-value
0.00071 and F crit 3.325) shows that there is a significant differ-
ence among the data set (P-value  0.05 and Fcrit < F).
The Skott-Knott test to flexural strength results shows a signif-
icant increase to CGP + PW from 7 to 28 days of age. The results of
the other mixtures indicate that the maximum flexural strength
was already achieved at the age of 7 days.
The results of flexural and compressive strengths obtained from
the specimens indicate that the uniaxial loading-pressure applied
142 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144

Fig. 6. Flexural strength results.

Table 5 Fig. 8. TG and DTG of the specimens.

Scott-Knott test with a 5% significance.

Mixture Age (days)

The increase in water/gypsum plaster ratio results in higher
7 28 56
porosity [42]. So, the lower porosity of CGP molded by loading-
Flexural strength pressure when compared to CGP conventional is due to the low
CGP 9.5 a A 8.25 a A 9.31 a A
CGP + RC 5.14 a B 5.99 a A 6.07 a B
water/gypsum plaster ratio, and to the compaction applied to the
CGP + PW 2.59 a C 5.00b B 4.17b B specimen during its production.
RGP 5.35 a B 6.73 a A 5.23 a B CGP + RC presented water absorption more than 50% higher
RGP + RC 7.7 a A 6.24 a A 5.41 a B than CGP, indicating that RC addition resulted in an increase of
RGP + PW 3.39 a C 4.35 a B 4.83 a B
porosity. San-Antonio-González et al. [5] observed that the use of
Row data: the same lower case letters indicate similar statistical results (strength RC in gypsum plaster composites decreased the capillary water
evolution with curing time). absorption of the composite (up to 23%).
Column data: the same uppercase letters indicate similar statistical results
The amount of water necessary for gypsum hydration is low
(strength values among the groups).
and additional water is usually necessary to obtain good workabil-
ity. This additional water evaporates and leaves pores in the hard-
before the initial setting was favorable to develop higher mechan-
ened material, decreasing the mechanical properties [4]. The
ical properties. The same was observed by Gmouh et al. [40] that
uniaxial loading-pressure applied before initial setting allows the
achieved a flexural strength about twice than non-loading-
use of a low water/gypsum plaster ratio and contributes to the
pressure gypsum plaster specimens, and by Zhou et al. [41] that
porosity reduction. Thereafter, higher final strengths than those
obtained gypsum blocks with hardness of 1.47 GPa using
achieved with gypsum plaster components made in the conven-
loading-pressures.
tional way are also obtained [40].

3.3. Total water absorption and voids 3.4. TG/DTG

Fig. 7 shows the results of total water absorption and voids at
the age of 28 days.
As it was expected, the results show that the CGP specimens
molded by uniaxial loading-pressure before the initial setting
had lower water absorption and voids when compared to CGP pro-
duced in a conventional way, with no loading-pressure (CGP
convent.).
Fig. 8 presents the results of TG/DTG.
In all the results there are two common loss of mass. The first
curve is attributed to the loss of combined water in the range of
60 °C to 240 °C, related to the decomposition of CaSO42H2O and
CaSO4∙1/2H2O [43]. The second is due to the calcium carbonate
decomposition and occurs at 550 °C and 690 °C, related to descar-
bonation of CaCO3 [44].
As expected, the loss of mass related to combined water of CGP
and RGP is higher because in these samples there is more gypsum
than others, and the hydrated and possible unhydrate products are
more concentrated.

3.5. SEM images (microstructure by SEM)

Fig. 9 shows the SEM images of CGP conventional, and the

Fig. 7. Total water absorption and voids of specimens at 28 days.
loading-pressure charge specimens CGP, CGP + RC, CGP + PW,
RGP, and RGP + PW.
The CGP paste SEM made in the conventional way (no loading-
pressure charge) (Fig. 9a) shows the needle-like crystals formed
after hydration. CGP (Fig. 9b) and RGP (Fig. 9e) show a denser
and more compact microstructure than CGP conventional
(Fig. 9a). The hydrated gypsum crystals are more interconnected,
having a dense and compact microstructure. CGP + RC (Fig. 9c),
CGP + PW (Fig. 9d), and RGP + PW (Fig. 9f) show gypsum crystals
 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144
a) CGP – no loading-pressure charge
c) CGP+RC
e) RGP
Fig. 9. SEM images.
interlocked with each other. In the images, it is also observed some
particles of RC or PW dispersed in gypsum matrix.
The results show that the uniaxial loading-pressure affects the
gypsum plaster microstructure. The microstructural characteristics
of recycled gypsum plaster are similar to commercial one, the same
as observed in materials made with gypsum molded in the conven-
tional way (no loading-pressure charge) [45].
The usual microstructure of gypsum plaster is characterized by
well-defined needle-like crystals [42]. The uniaxial loading-
pressure applied before the initial setting, the crystals are com-
pacted and the arrangements of the crystals affect final mechanical
properties [46]. By pressing, the gypsum crystals are well inter-
locked and favor the formation of an entanglement of crystals,
which allows a compact microstructure and benefits the mechan-
ical properties [41].
4. Conclusions
This study investigated mixtures of gypsum plaster (commer-
cial and recycled) with industrial wastes (red ceramic – RC and
143
b) CGP
d) CGP+PW
f) RGP+PW
porcelain – PW) to building components production. The mixtures
were designed with 50% (wt%) of binder and 50% (wt%) of waste,
with a water/solid mass ratio of 0.22. Before setting it was applied
a uniaxial loading-pressure to mold the component.
The compacted mixtures had good mechanical performance and
lower porosity when compared to conventional gypsum. The
microstructure analysis showed higher gypsum crystals
interlocking.
The addition of waste results in longer setting times. In samples
produced with commercial gypsum plaster, the waste replacement
resulted in lower compressive strength; however, when it is used
recycled gypsum plaster, reference samples presented results sim-
ilar than those with waste. The 28-day compressive strengths were
between 12.3 MPa and 33.9 MPa, which are higher than the mini-
mum required by several types of building components, according
to Brazilian Standards, showing a good perspective to recycling
waste materials.
The results indicate that is technically feasible to produce an
eco-friendly material, with good mechanical performance using
recycled gypsum plaster and wastes. The production of gypsum-
based building components molded by uniaxial loading-pressure
144 R.H. Geraldo et al. / Construction and Building Materials 191 (2018) 136–144

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