Effects of Diatomite and Glass Cullet in the Waste-based Gypsum Building Materials

Gypsum building materials can be made from either natural resources or industrial residues. This work introduces the gypsum mixture based on domestic industrial wastes. The waste used as a calcium sulfate source in the mix is FGD gypsum from a power generation plant. Meanwhile, the silica-rich sources, i.e. diatomite, derived from brewery production, and soda-lime glass cullet from automotive safety glass industry are also employed. These wastes were pretreated before mixing and the compositions of the waste-based gypsum were carefully formulated and characterized. Phase presence and microstructural information were determined. Development in strength as well as water resistance was examined. The experimental work suggested that the addition of diatomite can significantly increase both strength and water insolubility.