“The World of Calcium Sulfate”

    Calcium sulfate occurs naturally in either the anhydrous or the hydrated form ³. The anhydrous from is primary found as the mineral anhydrite while the hydrated form is probably best known as gypsum³, which has been widely used since ancient times. 

   Calcium sulfate mainly occurs as a white odorless and slightly soluble powder with a melting point of 1450 ⁰c ⁴. In addition to the molecular formula, its molecular mass and pH vary depending on the amount of water molecules present in the compound. Generally, when we talk about calcium sulfate in chemistry, we refer to the anhydrous form, which has a molecular formula of CaSO₄, a molar mass of 136.14 g/mol and a pH of 10.4 ⁷.  Even though there are no real catastrophic health effects on humans, calcium sulfate might cause damage to the lugs and the respiratory tract as well as skin irritation in the case of exposure.

   

It can be produced from the naturally occurring minerals or through a series of chemical reactions. For example, the gypsum can be crushed and grounded to use as the dehydrate CaSO4*2H2O or can be heated up to make it lose 1.5 molecule of water to form the hemihydrate, CaSO₄ • 1/2H₂O, commonly known as plaster of Paris ⁸. On the other hand, it can be chemically obtained by reacting calcium carbonate with sulfuric acid or by precipitation from calcium chloride and a soluble sulfate.

   

Calcium sulfate is widely used in different sectors of the economy. Especially, in agriculture, calcium sulfate improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil by loosening tight and acting as pH buffer ¹. Also, it is commonly used as a fertilizer in order to improve the the health, productivity, and appearance of fruits and vegetables². In the food industry, it is used as a food additive not only because of the considerable amount of nutrients it provides, but also because it Keeps the baking powder ingredients mixed evenly, preventing cracking ⁵. In medicine, calcium sulfate is successfully used as a delivery vehicle for growth factors and antibiotics as well as in bone regeneration procedures⁸.

 

References

¹ Retrieved from http://www.pure-milieutechniek.be/publicaties/The%20Benefits%20of%20Calcium%20Sulphate%20Use%20in%20Soil%20&%20Agriculture.pdf

² The Benefits Of Plaster Of Paris. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tellyouall.com/the-benefits-of-plaster-of-paris/

³ Calcium sulfate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_sulfate

⁴ CALCIUM SULFATE | CaO4S - PubChem. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/calcium_sulfate

⁵ Ettlinger, S. (2007). Twinkie, deconstructed: My journey to discover how the ingredients found in processed foods are grown, mined (yes, mined), and manipulated into what America eats. New York, NY: Hudson Street Press.

⁶ Gypsum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

⁷ Rowe, R. C., Sheskey, P. J., Owen, S. C., & American Pharmacists Association. (2006). Handbook of pharmaceutical excipients. London: Pharmaceutical Press.

⁸ Thomas, M. V., & Puleo, D. A. (2009). Calcium sulfate: Properties and clinical applications. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 88B(2), 597-610. doi:10.1002/jbm.b.31269