How is Calcium Sulphate (Plaster of Paris), CaSO4·½ H2O (hemihydrate of calcium sulphate) prepared from gypsum?
It is obtained when gypsum, CaSO4·2H2O, is heated to 393 K.
Above 393 K, no water of crystallisation is left and anhydrous calcium sulphate, CaSO4 is formed. This is known as ‘dead burnt plaster’. It has a remarkable property of setting with water. On mixing with an adequate quantity of water it forms a plastic mass that gets into a hard solid in 5 to 15 minutes.