Manufacturing and properties of gypsum-based products with recovered wood and rubber materials

The experimental production of gypsum-based products (cylindrical samples, solid bricks) using different fractions of wood chips and rubber particles was studied. Recovered rubber and wood materials were mixed with gypsum and water in various proportions to fabricate gypsum-wood and gypsum-rubber cylindrical samples and standard solid bricks with six holes using appropriate molds. It was shown that to manufacture gypsum-wood and gypsum-rubber products with good mechanical strength, coarse fractions of wood and rubber should be used, but the proportion of wood or rubber should not exceed 25%. No thermal conductivity differences were found between the wood-and rubber-type of gypsum products, and particle size and material proportion had no effect. Samples with fine wood and rubber particles present at a lower proportion (25%) exhibited similar sound absorption behavior. The solid bricks had slightly higher strength when loaded at the large surface of their lateral upper side than when loaded at the small surface. The bricks provided better thermal insulation than both the extruded and pressed house bricks but lower than that of insulating bricks. The emission of volatile organic compounds out of the bricks was at an acceptable level according to regulations for construction products.