Heat of hydration as a method for determining the composition of calcined gypsum

The heat of hydration of a fresh, locally produced sample of some industrial gypsum (plaster of Paris, CaSO₄ · 0.5 H₂O) was determined. An adiabatic calorimeter was used for this purpose. The obtained heat of hydration was ?9 cal g^?1, which is higher than that for the hemihydrate (?5 cal g^?1). The calculated heat of hydration for calcium sulphate hemihydrate from the known heats of formation, and using ordinary thermochemical equations, is ?5 cal g^?1. In the same manner, however, the calculated heat of hydration for the anhydrite (CaSO₄) is ?29 cal g^?1. The higher heat of hydration (?9 cal g^?1) for the tested sample than that for the ordinary hemihydrate (?5 cal g^?1) was attributed to the presence of a certain percent of anhydrite. The composition of the tested sample was proposed by applying conventional chemical and rational analyses. The present work suggests the use of the heat of hydration as a tool for determining the composition of calcined gypsum.