Purity and Poison Gas: Investigating the Relationship between Gypsum Purity and Hydrogen Sulfide Production under Anaerobic Conditions

This application note demonstrates that as gypsum decomposes in the presence of sulfate-reducing agents, hydrogen sulfide is produced and gypsum purity degrades. Gypsum purity can be determined from the amount of chemically bound water that is available within a sample of gypsum. Measuring this bound moisture via loss-on-drying analysis (MAX® 5000XL) gives a reliable measurement of gypsum purity and can offer a way to predict the amount of H₂S that will be produced under anaerobic conditions.