FGD Intro

FGD Gypsum is a unique synthetic product derived from flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems at electric power plants. Sulfur dioxide emission control systems used by coal-fired power plants remove sulfur from combustion gases using "scrubbers." One particular type of scrubber that uses lime or limestone reagent (i.e., a substance used in a chemical reaction to produce another substance) and a forced oxidation (i.e., a chemical combination with oxygen) system produces "FGD gypsum," which is chemically nearly identical to mined natural gypsum and provides a wide-range of environmentally friendly applications.

The term "synthetic gypsum" has been used widely to encompass materials produced by a variety of industrial processes. In addition to FGD gypsum, synthetic gypsum includes materials such as phosphogypsum, (a byproduct of processing phosphate ore to make phosphoric acid), Titanogypsum (a byproduct from the production of titanium dioxide), fluorogypsum (a byproduct from the production of hydrofluoric acid from fluorspar) and citrogyspum (a byproduct of citric acid production). This website pertains only to FGD gypsum, produced by coal-fueled power plants.

There are many uses for FGD gypsum, including agriculture, gypsum panel products, highway construction, mining applications, cement production, water treatment and glass making. This website describes how FGD gypsum is produced, handled and used in a variety of ways. It is also a link to workshops, resources and contacts within the FGD industry.