Less coal - more recycling

As the coal fired power plants are closing one by one, FGD gypsum is becoming scarcer and needs to be transported from further away. 
Thus locally available recycled gypsum becomes an attractive raw material.

In Kent, Knauf UK chose to partner with leading local waste management company Countrystyle Recycling to deliver them significant amounts of recycled gypsum powder. 

Countrystyle Recycling put their faith in ReTec, being a pioneer in the recycling industry with extensive experience in gypsum recycling, to engineer, procure and commission the new plant.

From waste to resource

The rate at which FGD or virgin gypsum can be substituted with recycled gypsum depends entirely on the quality and purity of the powder.

Quality of input material is crucial, and as a leading player in its field, Countrystyle Recycling know how to manage their waste input.

After initial inspection at off-loading, the material is fed into a pre-crusher, which allows board-material to be reduced in size for conveying. At the picking station a team of 6 manually pick impurities from the waste stream, predominantly wood, plastic and inert material.

Downstream the ReTec equipment crushes, mills and screens the material.

One of the main challenges with recycling plasterboard is finding the optimum balance between crushing and milling: The process must be powerful enough to crush, agile enough to handle contaminants, yet gentle enough not to shred the paper into fines. The ReTec Gypsum Rollermill RGV22/1000, with its mechanically adjustable loading up to 10 tons and counter rotating Ø600 twin rollers, is developed specifically to work in gypsum plasterboard and to deliver uniquely on those parameters.

Managing Director of Countrystyle Recycling, Mr. Chris Howard:

“ReTec came in with a convincing solution just when we needed it. They have been very professional in every phase of the project execution, and we are excited to deliver significant quantities of the highest quality gypsum powder to our
customer for many years to come”.