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DEVELOPMENT OF PLASTER OF PARIS FROM GYPSUM DEPOSIT OF NORTH

EASTERN NIGERIA

Conference Paper · September 2016

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

DEVELOPMENT OF PLASTER OF PARIS FROM GYPSUM DEPOSIT OF NORTH

EASTERN NIGERIA

1
M.J. Madu, 1M.B. Ndaliman and 2B.Oche

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna - Nigeria

2
Scientific Equipment Development Institute, Minna – Nigeria

Corresponding author’s email: mbndaliman@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Plaster of Paris (POP) is one of the most important products obtained from gypsum which is very
much available in Nigeria and used by different industries for numerous applications. Today,
POP is mostly imported from other foreign countries in order to satisfy the nation’s need.
Importing finished products/goods that could be sourced and produced locally in the country has
continued to increase national debt, unemployment, drain national economy and add extra cost to
our industries’ production expenses. This research presents the local production of POP from
gypsum deposit of Nafada region by using electric burning kiln for calcination. Gypsum rock
was collected, selected and washed properly with clean water and then crushed into powder and
screened to remove the larger particles. The powder was calcined using electric burning kiln to
obtain POP at a temperature of 1700C. The properties of the different samples with various
water/plaster ratios were tested and it was discovered that the samples with water/plaster ratio of
90:100 and 100:100, gave better results of 14.47N/mm2 and 15.92N/mm2 of compressive
strength, 1.08g/cm3 and 1.01g/cm3 of density, 42.9% and 54.9% of porosity respectively. A
mould was also produced from the POP and its features when compared to the mould of an
imported POP were the same in terms of colour, particle size, dimension and weight. On the
basis of this investigation, the locally produced POP from Nafada gypsum deposit can
adequately replace the foreign ones.

Keywords: Gypsum, Plaster of Paris, Water/Plaster Ratio, Density, Porosity.

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

1. INTRODUCTION

Gypsum is known to be a sedimentary rock, which settled through the evaporation of sea water,
trapped in lagoons. According to the nature of its impurities, gypsum can show various colours
ranging from white to brown, yellow, grey and pink [1]. The rock, gypsum is a major raw
material for the production of Plaster of Paris (POP). It is locally available in Nigeria as about
one billion tonnes of gypsum deposit spread across different locations in the country. Locations
like Yobe, Sokoto, Adamawa, Gombe, Benue state and others have gypsum deposits in
substantial quantities. Gypsum occurs naturally as a crystal of hydrous calcium sulphate
CaSO4.2H2O and it is the major raw material for making POP. POP is a white powdery mixture
of gypsum and named such because the first deposit of gypsum was found in Paris. POP has a
number of uses because of its special property to harden with just water [1]. It is used in building
and construction industry for wall plaster and decorations, in ceramics section for making
moulds, in agriculture and orthopaedic department. A report by the Federal Ministry of Trade
and Investment which shows its wide spread availability in the country but this has been ignored
when compared to countries like Mauritania, America, Germany and many others.

Researchers have shown that POP can be produced as [1] manufactured local Plaster of Paris
(POP) from salt residue mined in Sege the Dangme East district of Greater Accra region of
Ghana. The salt residue was heated between 120-1500C and crushed into powdered form using
corn mill thereby turning it into POP. The results of the study revealed that the locally produced
POP could serve the same purpose as the foreign one. [2] Produced plaster of Paris from gypsum
deposits in south Jordan and investigated the setting time. In the research, it was found that the
setting time was delayed with increasing amount of water, the powder size and other factors. [3]
Researched on Wurno, Dange and Weppa gypsum by carrying out a comparative analysis
between the three classes of gypsum for plaster and ceramic production. Results from this
analysis showed that POP was produced and it is suitable for ceramic slip casting process. [4]
Showed in his research that the recycled gypsum plaster maintains its characteristics when
submitted to different recycling cycles. The obtained results showed that both recycled and the
commercial gypsum plasters are similar in use to the construction industry. The transformation

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

of gypsum to plaster is carried out by different methods. Some commonly used techniques of
gypsum calciners are the rotary drum calciner, pan type calciner, kettle calciner, and fluidized
bed technique of producing pop [5]. [5] Experimented the feasibility of using solar energy to
produce POP. To test the feasibility of using solar heat for the calcination of gypsum,
experiments were conducted using a parabolic solar cooker, PRINCE-40. The experiments
conclusively proved that solar concentrators can be a feasible technology for dehydrating
gypsum.

Therefore, since gypsum deposits are very much available in Nigeria, a locally made Plaster of
Paris was explored in this research to minimize the cost of importing POP and to serve as a
source of income and employment to Nigerians. This research seeks to produce POP by using
gypsum deposit from Nafada local government Area of Gombe State by using electric burning
kiln process for ceramic applications. Properties of Nafada POP are also investigated to
determine suitable ratio mix for this POP.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The major raw material for the production of Plaster of Paris is the gypsum rock collected from
Nafada Local Government area in Gombe State. Other equipment used for the production of
POP are: the electric burning Kiln (PROTHERMO-HOFMANN TYPE) used for the calcination
of crushed gypsum, the digital weighing scale (SZEGEDI, OMH ENG TYPE) used for
measuring the weight of POP and raw gypsum in kilograms, the manual compressive strength
testing machine (BREMBATE SOPRA 24030 Italy), for measuring the applied force in kilo
Newton. The hammer is used for crushing the gypsum rock to powder, the vibratory-sieve
(BOSCH-112219) and manual sieve for screening the large particles which are not properly
crushed, a crucible, water, stirrer, wooden ruler, measuring cylinder, wooden mould.

The method of producing POP includes collection, selection, washing, drying, crushing,
screening, calcination and storing. The mineral is produced from underground mines and
below water level by excavation (digging). It is laid down in beds and ranges in thickness from a
few centimetres to several metres. It was collected in a bag and transported to the workshop
where it was processed. Since the rock was extracted from the earth, it contains some impurities
like sand and clay. These impurities were removed by selecting the bigger particles of clay and
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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

sand from the sample collected in the site so as to obtain good samples of gypsum which will
further be processed. Gypsum was washed thoroughly to ensure it was free from impurities like
sand and clay that sticks to it and was dried under room temperature for seven days so that it
does not get contaminated by dust. A hammer and a marble table were used for
crushing/grinding the dry gypsum rock into powder form. It was done manually by hitting
gypsum on the table until it was crushed into a smaller particle size. A marble table was used
because it cannot easily break into pieces and get mixed up with the gypsum which is being
crushed. An electric vibrating sieve of 300 microns was used for sieving the crushed powder in
other to remove the large grains which were not properly crushed. Where there was power
failure, the manual sieve of the same size was used for screening the powder and made ready for
calcination.

After preparing the gypsum powder, it was poured into a crucible and loaded into an electric kiln
for calcination. The crucible was used in the kiln for calcination of gypsum because POP
produced from a crucible is denser and stronger [3]. Sample was heated to a temperature range of
1700C, so that the combined water in the sample was released. After heating it to the required
temperature, the oven was off and the powder was allowed to get cool inside the oven for a
period of 18 hours before it was opened. The effect of heat on gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), results
into this chemical reaction shown in equation 1:

CaSO4.2H2O + Heat → CaSO4.½H2O + 1½H2O………………1

After calcination, the powder was stored in a polythene bag and kept in a dry place to prevent
moisture from getting into the bag. For the purpose of this work, a temperature range of 1700C
was selected because it had porous surface making the absorption of water quicker, its lighter in
weight and the colour of the POP appeared to be very bright. Also, stronger bonding of the POP
particles makes it set very hard and at a temperature of 1700C. The POP was further subjected to
porosity, density and compressive strength test with the following ratio mix in table 1 in order to
determine the suitable ratio of this POP.

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

Table 1: Samples with Different Water/Plaster Ratio Mix

Sample No. 1 2 3 4 5
Plaster 100g 100g 100g 100g 100g
Water 90ml 100ml 110ml 120ml 130ml

Table 1, shows the different water/plaster ratio mix of the samples. The samples have the same
plaster weight but different water volume.

The porosity of the POP obtained was calculated using the formula in (2)

X 100…..............2

The dry density of the POP was also of the POP was also calculated by the formula in (3)

Density (g/cm3) …………………………………………………………………3

And the compressive strength was obtained by formula (4)

Compressive strength = (N/mm2) …………………………..........…4

A laboratory mortar was produced by using the water/plaster ratio of 100:100 because it gave the
best results in terms of porosity, density and compressive strength. The POP was sprinkled on
water inside a container and allowed to soak for 2 minutes then stirred and poured into the
master mould and allowed to solidify. Finally, the mould was dried under the sun for seven days.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results are presented in the following paragraphs. It was discovered that impurities were
removed through washing; gypsum was dried, crushed and sieved to obtain fine particles of 300
microns. Finally, after calcination, the end product obtained was the POP. The properties of the

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

POP namely: porosity, density, and compressive strength test has a record of the following:
Figure 1 shows the behaviour of porosity of POP over the different mix ratios.

Figure 1: Percentage of Porosity for each Ratio Sample

From figure 1, it can be observed that porosity increases with water proportion. This percentage
of absorption increased with increase in volume of water because of its porosity. Also, when
small volume of water was added to POP, the mixture became very thick and stronger after it had
dried, with a lower porosity percentage. Therefore, from this research, the use of the same
amount of water and plaster powder ratio is appropriate so as to have an average water
absorption level. According to [6], the actual standard of porosity for POP should have a value of
not less than 20%. Therefore, the results in figure 1 shows that the porosity level of the samples
produced from this POP are comparable to the standard since they are all above 20%. Figure 2
shows the density of the POP

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

Figure 2: Density versus Ratio Mix of Sample

From the chart in figure 2, the five different samples show a slight decrease in the density of
each mixture as water quantity is increased. Samples 1, 2 and 3 have higher densities with an
average of 1.03g/cm3 while samples 4 and 5 have lower densities with average of 0.92g/cm3. All
these densities have their respective volumes, depending on the quantity of water used in mixing
each sample. Soyinka [3] discovered that the density of plaster from Dange area of Sokoto State
gave a smooth decrease from one end of the chart to the other as water quantity increases, also
the record of Dange POP density for water/plaster of 100:100 and 90:100 are 0.91g/cm3 and
0.93g/cm3 respectively. When these results were compared with that of Nafada area from Gombe
State, they tend to show the same behaviour of descending or decreasing slightly across the
chart, but the Nafada POP has a density of 1.01 g/cm3 and 1.08g/cm3 for 100:100 and 90:100
ratio mixes respectively. The results obtained for the density of Nafada POP at 100:100 and
90:100 are higher than that of Dange POP which has densities lower than 1.0g/cm3 at the same
water/plaster ratio. Figure 3 presents the compressive strength of the samples.

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

Figure 3: Compressive Strength Variation with Ratio Mix

From the graph in figure 3, sample 1, which has a ratio of 90:100, has a compressive strength of
14.47 N/mm2. Sample 2, with ratio 100:100 has a compressive strength of 15.92 N/mm2. It
shows that when water quantity of 100ml and below was added to 100g of POP, there is an
increase in strength. But as water quantity of 110ml in sample 3 to 130ml in sample 5 were
added respectively, it was observed that the compressive strength decreased to the values 8.4,
7.8, 4.2 N/mm2 respectively. The POP strength therefore decreases with greater increase in the
volume of water added.

Figure 4 shows the mould produced from the local POP and figure 5 shows the mould from an
imported POP. When both moulds were compared, results shows that they have the similar
colour, particle size, shrinkage and can be used also for other values.

(i) Colour:-The colour of the local mould and the mould made from the imported POP as shown
in figure 4 and 5 are similar. They are both white and bright in appearance.

(ii) Particle Size:- This is the size range or the mean size of the particles in the gypsum powder.
The particle size of the local POP produced is the same with the particle size of the imported
POP when passed through a sieve. They both have a particle size of 300 microns.

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

(iii) Shrinkage:- Shrinkage means a decrease in single dimension of a sample when moisture is
reduced. Shrinkage for both the imported and locally produced POP is insignificant. They both
have zero shrinkage.

Drag
Pattern

Cope
Pattern

Figure 4: Laboratory mortar produced from local POP

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

Drag
Pattern

Cope
Pattern

Figure 5: Laboratory mortar produced from imported POP

4. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, POP can be produced from Nafada gypsum in other to replace the imported ones.
The POP properties – density, decreases with increase in volume of water, its porosity, increases
with increase in the volume of water. The compressive strength decreased as water above 100ml
was added. Therefore, the water/plaster ratio of 90:100 and 100:100 gave better results as it gave
good porosity, higher compressive strength and a density above one gram per cubic metre when
compared to other samples. The Nafada POP was used to produce a ceramic laboratory mortar
mould which was found to be according to standards. Gypsum from other locations can be
sourced and used for POP production; also, other applications can be developed.

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 Proceedings of the 1st AGM and Conference of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Minna, held
at Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Minna – Nigeria,

September 9th & 10th, 2016

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the Management of Scientific Equipment Development

Institute Minna where the Plaster of Paris was produced using their equipment.

REFERENCES

[1]. Asante - Kyei, K; “Manufacturing of Local Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) From Salt ResidueMined
in Sege in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana”. Research
Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 4(1); 953-958. 2012.
[2]. Alrawashdeh, A.I; Al-Rawajfeh, A.E; Al-Bedoor, A.A; Al-Shamaileh,E.M; Al-Hanaktah,
M.N. “Production of Plaster From Gypsum Deposits in South Jordan: Improvement of
the Setting Time”. Journal of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 9 (3), 293-302,
2014.
[3]. Soyinka. G.K.. “Comparative Analysis of Wurno, Dange and Weppa Gypsums in Nigeria
for Plaster and Ceramic Production”. A Dissertation submitted to the School of Post
Graduate studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, 2015.
[4]. Pinheiro, S.M; Camarini, G. “Characteristic of Gypsum Recycling in Different Cycles”.
International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7, (3), 215-218, 2015.
[5]. Acharya, H.N., Chandak, “A. Production of Plaster of Paris Using Solar Energy”.
International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 2, 516-519, (2013
[6]. National Management Consultants, “Pre-feasibility Study for Gypsum Mining, Production,
Processing and Marketing”. Pakistan 2006.

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