Automatic Gypsum Powder Production Line

The automatic gypsum powder production line is a complete set of equipment with extremely high technical maturity and large-scale popularization in the building materials industry. The core conclusion is that the field has achieved fully unmanned operation from the entry of ore/industrial by-product gypsum into the factory to the palletizing of finished products. However, unlike the washing powder line you inquired about earlier which requires a choice between two options, the technical division of gypsum powder lines lies in the raw material route (natural ore vs. industrial by-product) and product type (β ordinary type vs. α high-strength type)—this determines whether you adopt completely different process packages of “dry calcination” or “wet phase transformation”. The following is a complete breakdown based on benchmark projects since 2015, the latest control technologies from 2022 to 2025, and systematic designs in the academic circle, with detailed explanations of each link and natural integration of relevant equipment and raw material terms.

Must First Clarify: What Kind of Gypsum Powder Do You Produce?

This is the starting point for equipment selection, and the equipment for different routes is completely not universal. The automatic gypsum powder production line is mainly used in the building materials industry, and its core is the processing of gypsum raw materials into qualified powder products. Most of the key equipment in the production line is made of stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant and easy to maintain, adapting to the harsh working environment of ore processing and calcination. At the same time, important equipment such as grinding machines and crushers are equipped with stable chargers to ensure continuous and stable operation, and some export-oriented production lines are equipped with CE Certificate grinders to meet international quality and safety standards.

There are three main types of gypsum powder products, each with different raw materials, core processes, uses and automation maturity. The first is β-type building gypsum powder, whose typical raw materials include natural gypsum ore, desulfurized gypsum and phosphogypsum. Its core process is “dry method”: crushing + calcination (fluidized bed furnace/rotary kiln), which is mainly used for gypsum board, plastering gypsum and gypsum blocks, with the highest automation maturity (five stars). This route uses a variety of crushing and grinding equipment, such as coarse crusher, Hammer Mill, universal grinder and airflow pulverizer, to ensure the fineness of raw materials and finished products. The second is α-type high-strength gypsum powder, whose typical raw materials are natural gypsum ore and chemical gypsum. Its core process is “wet method”: slurry preparation + phase transformation + drying + fine grinding, which is mainly used for precision molds, medical purposes, ceramics and 3D printing, with high automation maturity (four stars, DCS has become the standard configuration). This route involves equipment such as Vacuum Mill, Ultrafine Grinder and vibrating pulverizer to meet the high fineness requirements of products.

The third is anhydrous gypsum, whose raw material is natural gypsum ore, and its core process is high-temperature calcination + activator addition, which is mainly used for self-leveling mortar and industrial floors, with medium automation maturity (three stars, patent technology). The decision-making logic is very clear: if the annual output is more than 100,000 tons and you produce gypsum board/ordinary mortar, choose the β-type dry line (Shiyu, Saint-Gobain mode); if you pursue high added value, small batches and produce molds/dental materials, choose the α-type wet line (DCS distributed control); if you produce special industrial floor materials, pay attention to the anhydrous gypsum patent technology. It should be noted that unlike the fruit powder production line focusing on dehydration, the washing powder line focusing on mixing and granulation, and the aluminum powder line focusing on physical crushing, the automatic gypsum powder production line focuses on the crushing, calcination and phase transformation of gypsum raw materials, and its equipment and processes are more closely related to building materials processing.

Full-Automatic β-Type Gypsum Powder Production Line (Dry Calcination)—Absolute Industrial Mainstream

This is the most widely used and highest automation route in China at present. As early as 2015, Saint-Gobain Changzhou’s 165,000-ton line realized “fully automatic operation from raw material feeding to packaging and palletizing”, which is still the industry benchmark so far. With the continuous upgrading of control technology in recent years, the automation level of this route has been further improved, and it has become the first choice for large-scale industrial production of gypsum powder.

The fully automatic process covers 8 major sections, all of which do not require manual intervention, according to the engineering practice of China New Building Materials Design and Research Institute. The first section is raw material feeding, which realizes automatic metering and frequency conversion speed regulation through a belt conveyor, and the key equipment is a metering belt (closed-loop PID control). The second section is crushing, which realizes automatic feeding and online particle size monitoring, and the key equipment includes a Hammer Mill and a roller crusher; some small-scale production lines can also use small grinder machine or Electric Grinder for auxiliary crushing. The third section is drying, which realizes automatic adjustment of hot air temperature and negative pressure control of tail gas, and the key equipment is a three-pass dryer and a hot air furnace. The fourth section is calcination, which is the core control point, realizing dynamic regulation of the temperature of the fluidized bed furnace/rotary kiln, and the key equipment is a fluidized bed calciner (160-220℃) and a heat transfer oil system.

The fifth section is screening, which realizes automatic start-stop of the vibrating screen and blockage alarm, and the key equipment is a multi-layer linear screen. The sixth section is batching and mixing, which realizes automatic weighing of multiple components and formula management, and the key equipment is an electronic batching scale and a ribbon mixer. The seventh section is packaging, which realizes automatic filling and automatic folding and sealing, and the key equipment is a valve port packaging machine and a fully automatic palletizing robot. The eighth section is palletizing, which realizes automatic stacking by robots and automatic supply of pallet warehouses, and the key equipment is a six-axis industrial robot. Shiyu Building Materials’ newly put into production Phase II project in 2025 has been further upgraded: “one-key start of the batching and forming system, PLC control, real-time alarm for lack of material and material breakage”, and a single line can support an annual output of 1 million tons of building gypsum powder.

The level of the control system is an important symbol of the automation of the production line. The mainstream platform adopts Siemens S7-1516F safety controller + TIA Portal V16 (the latest engineering application in 2022). The control strategy is dynamic regulation of gypsum calcination—real-time adjustment of calcination temperature according to the moisture and particle size of the incoming material, solving the stubborn problem of “over-calcination/under-calcination” in the traditional process. The network architecture adopts workshop-level 5G industrial Internet (Shiyu Building Materials Phase II has built a 5G R&D center), which can realize remote monitoring and data traceability, further improving the intelligence level of the production line.

It should be noted that the “German technology gypsum powder lines” displayed on the Alibaba platform are all shown by traders and cannot provide large-scale engineering-grade production lines. The institutions really capable of complete line delivery include China New Building Materials Design and Research Institute (the general contractor of Saint-Gobain Changzhou line), China New Building Materials Design and Research Institute (the unit of the author of the 2022 TIA Portal control system paper), and Shiyu Building Materials (with its own production line technical team, a benchmark for high-value utilization of phosphogypsum). In terms of production capacity and investment reference, the 165,000-ton/year Saint-Gobain Changzhou project (2015) had an investment of about 30-50 million yuan (historical data), which needs to be increased at the current price due to depreciation; the 1 million-ton/year Shiyu Building Materials Jingzhou project (2025) has an investment of 250 million yuan (including the gypsum board line), and the gypsum powder line is part of it; the general industrial line with an annual output of 100,000-300,000 tons has an investment of 10-30 million yuan (excluding civil engineering and boilers).

The energy consumption indicators of the industry’s advanced level are as follows: heat consumption is 0.8-1.2GJ per ton of powder (fluidized bed furnace, natural gas), and electricity consumption is 35-45kWh per ton of powder. The auxiliary equipment of this production line also includes dust collector grinder, Dust Grinder and Air cooled crusher to collect dust, reduce environmental pollution and ensure the cleanliness of the production environment. Some large-scale production lines also use 500KG Grinder or 200KG grinder to adjust the output and fineness according to production needs.

Full-Automatic α-Type High-Strength Gypsum Powder Production Line (Wet Phase Transformation)—Technological Pinnacle

If you need to produce medical gypsum, precision casting mold powder and 3D printing gypsum powder, you must choose the α route. The automation of this line is an order of magnitude more complex than that of the β-type line, requiring more precise control systems and more advanced equipment configuration. This route is mainly used for high-value-added, small-batch refined production, and its product quality and performance are significantly higher than those of β-type gypsum powder.

The essential difference between the process and the β-type is that α gypsum is not produced by “dry calcination”, but by “wet chemical reaction”: raw gypsum → grinding → mixing with water to make slurry → adding phase transformation agent in the phase transformation kettle (130-160℃) → dehydration → drying → fine grinding (high fineness requirements). The key difference is that β-type is “dehydration modification”, while α-type is “crystal morphology regulation”, which requires more precise control of process parameters, so the automation system is more complex.

The complete architecture of the fully automatic DCS control system is most systematically dissected in the 2013 master’s thesis of University of Jinan, which still has engineering guiding value so far. The control system is composed of seven control subsystems, each with clear control objectives and implementation methods. The first is the raw powder feeding subsystem, whose control objective is to stabilize the feeding amount, realized by cumulative control of the metering belt and frequency conversion speed regulation. The second is the slurry preparation subsystem, whose control objective is the accurate ratio of water/powder/phase transformation agent, realized by a ratio control system (PID).

The third is the phase transformation process subsystem, whose control objective is to stabilize the temperature at ±1℃, realized by cascade control: the temperature inside the kettle is the main loop, and the jacket steam pressure is the auxiliary loop. The fourth is the drying and granulation subsystem, whose control objective is constant moisture content of the discharged material, realized by SCR power regulation of the electric heater + feedback of the outlet air temperature. The fifth is the fine grinding and powder selection subsystem, whose control objective is concentrated particle size distribution, realized by interlocking the speed of the powder selector with the current of the grinder. The sixth is the cleaning water subsystem, whose control objectives are water saving and automatic slag discharge, realized by liquid level interlocking and automatic switching of electric valves. The seventh is the motor protection subsystem, whose control objectives are overload, phase loss and locked rotor protection, realized by connecting all motors to DCS and real-time monitoring of current.

The hardware configuration of the control system was at the 2013 level, and now it has been further upgraded: the controller has been upgraded from Siemens S7-300 series to S7-1500 series, the upper computer uses WinCC, the network adopts industrial Ethernet, and the number of I/O points is 300-500 (determined by the scale of the α line). In terms of production capacity and investment reference, the single-line production capacity is usually 10,000-50,000 tons per year (β-type is often hundreds of thousands of tons, while α-type is refined production); the investment intensity is 2-3 times that of the β-type, and a 50,000-ton/year α line needs about 50-80 million yuan.

The main suppliers include the automation team of University of Jinan and some non-standard integrators in Jiangsu and Zhejiang (no public giants). The equipment used in this route includes high-precision grinding equipment such as cryogenic grinding machine, turbo grinder and high speed Dry Grinder to ensure the fineness and uniformity of products. Some export-oriented equipment is CE Certificate grinder to meet international quality standards. In addition, this route also involves some equipment that is also used in other fields, such as Dry Fruit Powder Grinder Machine and cassava grinding machine, which can be used for auxiliary processing of some special raw materials, but the main equipment is still specialized for the production of α-type high-strength gypsum powder.

2025 Latest Industrial Trend: Automation Difficulties of Industrial By-Product Gypsum (Phosphogypsum/Desulfurized Gypsum)

Shiyu Building Materials’ 1 million-ton line is a benchmark for high-value utilization of phosphogypsum, but this is precisely the field with the greatest automation challenges. Compared with natural gypsum ore, industrial by-product gypsum has more complex components and worse processing performance, which brings great difficulties to the automation of the production line. In the production process, some auxiliary materials related to chemicals may also be used, but they are mainly used to remove impurities and adjust product performance.

The reason why it is more difficult to automate is mainly reflected in three aspects: first, the composition fluctuates greatly—phosphogypsum contains impurities such as phosphorus, fluorine and organic matter, and its moisture content is unstable, which requires real-time adjustment of process parameters; second, the pretreatment is complex—it needs multiple processes such as water washing, neutralization and aging, which is far more than that of natural ore; third, scaling and blockage—phosphogypsum has high viscosity, and the drying and calcination equipment is prone to skinning, requiring frequent manual cleaning, which affects the continuity of automatic production.

At present, the solution level is as follows: Shiyu Building Materials claims “fully automatic production”, but it is only limited to the batching and forming system. Whether the front-end phosphogypsum pretreatment is completely unmanned has not been disclosed in public information. This is the current technical breakthrough point of the industry. When inquiring, you must ask: “For the viscous scaling of phosphogypsum, is an automatic blockage removal device configured? Is the pretreatment section included in DCS?” This is crucial to ensuring the continuity and stability of the production line and reducing labor costs.

Patent Technology: Automatic Integrated Machine for Anhydrous Gypsum Production (Special Route)

The patent technology published in 2023 focuses on the automation of anhydrous gypsum (high-temperature calcination). This technology integrates multiple processes into one, which has the advantages of compact structure, small floor area and low energy consumption, and is suitable for small-scale, special anhydrous gypsum production.

The technical characteristics are as follows: first, integrated integration—crushing → conveying → rolling → calcination are carried out in the same frame, which simplifies the equipment layout and reduces the difficulty of automatic control; second, the dust removal device is interlocked with the crushing roller—negative pressure dust collection is carried out synchronously during crushing, and the dust is directly reused, which not only reduces environmental pollution but also improves the utilization rate of raw materials; third, the applicable scenario is small-scale, special anhydrous gypsum production (not the mainstream of building gypsum). The maturity of this technology is at the patent stage, and no industrialization cases have been retrieved so far. It is not suitable for large-scale industrial production, but it has certain reference value for small-batch special gypsum powder production.

Major Information Gaps in Current Search Results (I Must Explain to You)

When selecting an automatic gypsum powder production line, you must pay attention to the major information gaps in the current search results to avoid being misled by suppliers and making wrong investment decisions. First, there is no public data providing a complete quotation list for the whole line. The equipment priced at 100,000-260,000 US dollars on the Alibaba platform is judged to be a combination of small single machines (Raymond mill + small packaging machine), not an industrial fully automatic line with an annual output of 100,000 tons. The quotation of the latter is usually at the level of tens of millions of yuan.

Second, the gold content of “fully automatic” for industrial by-product gypsum (phosphogypsum/desulfurized gypsum) is questionable. Shiyu Building Materials’ 2025 report mentions “one-key start of the batching and forming system”, but it does not explain the automation level of the upstream pretreatment section. This is a bottleneck that the industry dare not clearly state at present. Third, although the DCS design document of the α gypsum production line is a 2013 master’s thesis, it is still the most systematic Chinese reference material in this sub-field so far. There are no public papers on the new generation of control scheme subsequently, which indicates that the automation of α gypsum has matured and stabilized, and there has been no subversive breakthrough in recent years.

Fourth, the specific application of 5G/industrial Internet in the gypsum powder line (Shiyu Building Materials mentioned a 5G R&D center) has no technical details disclosed. If you need bidding and tendering technical specifications in this direction, there is no public data available. In addition, some equipment mentioned in the search results, such as herb grinder, Industrial Weed Grinder, dry ginger grinding machine, licorice grinding machine, black pepper grinder, etc., are mainly used in food, medicine and other fields, and have little correlation with the automatic gypsum powder production line, so they should not be confused during equipment selection.

Real Action Suggestions for You

The first step is to determine the raw materials and products first, otherwise the supplier cannot quote. Different raw materials (natural gypsum/desulfurized gypsum/phosphogypsum) and different products (β-type/α-type/anhydrous) correspond to completely different process packages and equipment configurations. The raw materials of the automatic gypsum powder production line are mainly building materials, which are very different from food raw materials such as Seasam, Peanut, wheat, corn, coffee, rice, bean, mushroom, bone, seeds, meat, tea, flour, spice, tobacco, salt, sugar, etc., and the equipment cannot be used universally.

The second step is to accurately lock the supplier type according to the following table and not waste time on the Alibaba platform. If your demand is an annual output of more than 100,000 tons of β building gypsum, using natural ore or desulfurized gypsum, you should find China New Building Materials Design and Research Institute and China National Building Materials System Companies. The core inquiry questions are: 1. Can you provide EPC for the whole line of more than 100,000 tons/year? 2. Choose a fluidized bed furnace or a rotary kiln for the calcination equipment? 3. What is the guaranteed value of heat consumption per ton of powder?

If your demand is an annual output of more than 50,000 tons of β building gypsum, using phosphogypsum, you should contact Shiyu Building Materials (need to negotiate) and Sichuan/Hubei Phosphorus Chemical Industry Design Institutes. The core inquiry questions are: 1. What is the automation scheme of the pretreatment section? 2. What is the anti-scaling design? 3. What are the energy consumption data of the existing put into production cases?

If your demand is an annual output of 10,000-50,000 tons of α high-strength gypsum, you should find the automation team of University of Jinan (the unit of the thesis author) and Shandong/Jiangsu non-standard integrators. The core inquiry questions are: 1. Is the DCS system the architecture described in the thesis? 2. What is the temperature control accuracy of the phase transformation kettle? 3. What is the electricity consumption per ton of powder?

If your demand is an annual output of less than 5,000 tons of special gypsum, you should find small and medium-sized equipment factories in Henan/Hebei. The core inquiry questions are: 1. Is it a continuous kiln or a batch kiln? 2. Can DCS control be provided?

The third step is to ask for the following list of documents during technical negotiations: the whole line PID flow chart (with control point marks), the I/O list (the number of points determines the automation depth), the 72-hour assessment report of the put into production project (energy consumption, production capacity, qualification rate), and the customer evaluation of phosphogypsum/desulfurized gypsum users (if any). These documents can help you accurately judge the technical level and reliability of the production line.

If you can tell me the specific raw material type (natural gypsum/desulfurized gypsum/phosphogypsum), target product (β-type/α-type/anhydrous) and annual production capacity scale, I can reversely calculate a more accurate equipment configuration list and investment threshold based on real engineering benchmarks such as Saint-Gobain’s 165,000-ton line, Shiyu’s 1 million-ton line and University of Jinan’s DCS design, helping you avoid wrong investment and select the most suitable automatic gypsum powder production line. It should be noted that the automatic gypsum powder production line does not involve equipment such as metal processing, cannabis processing, and Medicine processing, and the equipment should not be confused with other production lines.