01 Feedstock
Ore, monomer, fibre, mineral or scrap that can legally become Gypsum board.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Strength24
Heat resistance54
Fire performance92
Insulation34
Workability90
Circularity62
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Quick answers
Is Gypsum board non-combustible?
Declared reaction class in this atlas: A2-s1,d0 typical; core A1. Assemblies still need resistance tests.
Does Gypsum board insulate?
Thermal mark 34/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: ~0.17 W/m·K.
What is the density band?
~700–1000 kg/m³
How is it made?
Origin story: Sackett 1894; US Gypsum 1916 (United States).
Can it be recycled?
Circularity mark 62/100 — editorial, route-specific.
Typical melting or failure heat?
calcines ~80–180 °C (dehydration)
heat 54 · fire 92
Making Gypsum board is a chain: feedstock, conversion (Sackett 1894; US Gypsum 1916), forming, heat, finish, install.
Skip a step and the properties chapter is describing a different object.
Process steps
02 Conversion
Sackett 1894; US Gypsum 1916
03 Forming
Cast, spin, weave, sinter, foam, laminate or coat — the step that sets anisotropy.
04 Heat / cure
Temper, vulcanise, calcine or dry: skip it and the datasheet is fiction.
05 Finish
Coatings, sizings, facers, galvanizing, anodising, painting.
06 Install
Fasteners, adhesives, DFT, compression, dryness — site quality is a material property.
Routes
Primary
Virgin route around United States.
Recycled / secondary
Gypsum board has a real loop when sorting is honest.
Specialty
High-spec grades leave the commodity mill.
Site-applied
Coatings, sprays, casts — the factory is sometimes a jobsite.
Diagrams
Gypsum board process path
Feedstock to installed product.
- Feed — in
- Convert — mill
- Form — shape
- Finish — coat
- Install — out
- Spec — code
- Scrap loop — rec
Gypsum board heat & fire
Energy in, class out.
- Heat — in
- Gypsum board — mat
- λ / char — out
- Ignition — fire
- Euroclass — class
- Assembly — sys
Hard limits
Envelope
Melting/softening calcines ~80–180 °C (dehydration); conductivity ~0.17 W/m·K.
Environment
Moisture, UV, chlorides, alkalis or oxygen — pick the one that actually kills Gypsum board.
Code
Fire class A2-s1,d0 typical; core A1 is a starting letter, not a wall rating.
Process energy and scrap quality belong in the carbon passport, not in a footnote.
Keep exploring
More in Fire performance
👨🚒
Nomex
DuPont’s meta-aramid — fire-fighter turnout, electrical paper and a char that does not melt-drip like nylon.
Overall 65 🧯Intumescent coating
Paints that swell into insulating char — the thin-film way to give steel an R-rating without bulky boards.
Overall 58 🌡️Ceramic fibre
Spun refractory fibres for 1000–1400 °C — kiln linings, gaskets, and a respirable-fibre caution that AES grades try to ease.
Overall 62