Economic Evaluation of Thermal and Mechanical Activation Energies in Gypsum Production

Abstract

Plaster is among the most needed raw materials in the world. In this study, thermal activation provided by calcination and mechanical activation methods provided by intensive milling in the plaster production process were evaluated in terms of activation energy. In this context, the energies of laboratory-scale thermal and mechanical activation processes were calculated and these activation methods were evaluated economically and the ideal activation methods were determined. Although the mechanical activation method creates additional investment and operating costs, it reduces the calcination temperature by 13 °C, thus provides lower energy costs. Addition of a mechanical activator mill before thermal activation in plaster production as a more economical and more environmentally friendly method was proposed.