Incorporation of wood waste as aggregate in the production of recycled gypsum products: mechanical and thermal analysis

The use of gypsum products is widely extended in the building sector in wall and ceiling solutions. Thus, some researchers have already focused on the use, separately, of wood residues and gypsum waste for the generation of new eco-efficient gypsum plasters. Nevertheless, to date, no previous experiences have been found in which wood waste and gypsum residues have been used together to develop eco-plasters. In this sense, the paper presents research on the creation of fully recycled gypsum plasters using both residues at different percentages: unheated gypsum waste from plasterboard production and two types of wood waste (sawdust and wood shavings) obtained from building demolition works. In the first stage, the mechanical and thermal performance of the new gypsum plasters was evaluated. Finally, new recycled gypsum plates, for their application in suspended ceilings, were produced and tested using the composites tested during the research. Finally, it is worth noting that all the developed composites are lighter (by up to 38.3%) and have lower thermal conductivity (by up to 39.2%). Furthermore, the use of gypsum waste was consistently linked to an increase in the mechanical properties of the composites, compared with those made with commercial gypsum containing the same wood waste content, achieving the minimum requirements of the standards in all cases. • Wood waste and gypsum residues were used to generate new eco-plasters. • An improvement in thermal behavior of the lighter plasters was achieved. • Good mechanical performance was obtained for the new composites. • Fully recycled wood-gypsum plates for suspended ceiling were produced and tested.