The Environment

RAPIDWALL reduces, if not eliminates, the environmental damage caused by degradation of precious agricultural resources needed in traditional building materials

The Environment The global warming debate wages on and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Roger A. Pielke, Jr., Professor in the Environmental Studies Program and a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), and Daniel Sarewitz, Professor of Science and Society and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes (CSPO), at Arizona State University say:

“Climate impacts occur because society and environment are vulnerable. This vulnerability might take the form of urban development on a flood plain or on an unstable mountainside, or it might mean a species stressed through loss of its habitat.”

“Human-caused or not, these changes are likely to have impacts on society and the environment. Natural disasters, human health, biodiversity, endangered species, water resources, international trade, financial services, transportation networks, agriculture — virtually any area of human experience is in some way affected by climate. These impacts are occurring today, and they hold the prospect of increasing in the future. And for the most part, we are doing too little in response.”

RAPIDWALL is produced from inert, naturally-occurring gypsum or from byproduct chemical gypsums. Removing excess byproduct chemical gypsum and turning it into SAKANNwall panels -- and subsequently homes -- not only cleans up the environment, but provides an opportunity to give disadvantaged people a place to call their own.
RAPIDWALL reduces, if not eliminates, environmental damage caused by the degradation of precious agricultural resources needed in traditional building materials, such as clay for bricks; water, sands and metals for concrete.
Compared to these traditional building products, RAPIDWALL uses 50% of the energy for production.
RAPIDWALL has such low CO2 emissions that it will become eligible for Carbon Credits
The goal of the carbon credit system is to stop the increase of carbon dioxide emissions.
Companies that have reduced their greenhouse gases below their emission quota are awarded credits, which can ultimately be traded in the international market at their current market price.
RAPIDWALL is 100% recyclable.
Its production and manufacturing has little impact on the environment.

Gypsum is the primary raw material for the manufacture of RAPIDWALL. Throughout the world, natural gypsum as well as synthetic gypsum is used for RAPIDWALL. Natural gypsum is an inert, naturally-occurring mineral and available in vast quantities all over the world. It has been used for decoration and as a construction material dating back to ancient Egypt.

In all countries, gypsum is used as a clay-breaker to enhance the yield of farming land. Many millions of tonnes of flue-gas gypsum are produced annually as byproducts of coal-fired power stations and chemical fertilizer industries.In many cases, this waste is itself becoming an environmental problem.

By utilizing Rapid Building Systems’ Rapidflow calcination equipment, flue-gas gypsum and other industrial gypsums can be turned into plaster and subsequently into RAPIDWALL buildings that are environmentally friendly, nonpolluting, energy efficient, and aesthetically pleasing -- thereby cleaning up the environment.

In formulating RAPIDWALL building panels, the main ingredients are plaster and water supplemented with relatively small amounts of other materials to obtain excellent water resistance and strength properties.

The other raw materials consist of retarder, a water-proofing agent, polymers, consistency modifiers, release agents and fiberglass rovings.

These ingredients are sourced through the petrochemical, mineral, and vegetable oil industries and are all supplied with comprehensive Material Safety Data Sheets for safe and environmentally responsible use. There are no animal products required or used.

RAPIDWALL is continuing with research and development on raw materials and additives to improve performance even further, whilst maintaining their strict ecological guidelines (energy efficiency, environmentally friendly, recyclability) and quality as top priorities.

In a diverse range of countries and communities where Rapidwall is active, traditional customs, beliefs and religions are treated with the highest respect, before and during the life cycle of the respective projects.

In an effort to eliminate environmental damage, China outlawed the use of clay bricks in 2002 because of the damage caused by the mining of clay and because of the pollution caused by firing the many thousands of kilns. This issue is viewed of such importance that they now operate in Beijing a “Ministry of Walling” with the sole responsibility of finding and introducing new types of energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly walling products. RAPIDWALL is one of the few products identified as satisfying the strict parameters set forth by this Ministry.

The Government of India has arrived at a similar conclusion in regard to the use of RAPIDWALL. RAPIDWALL addresses both the need for a more energy-efficient building material as well as usage of the excess gypsum waste created by the tonnes of fertilizer produced annually in India. The single panel RAPIDWALL system serves as both the internal and external wall and eliminates the need for bricks, blocks, timber, and steel wall frames and plasterboard linings. “RAPIDWALL panels are the lowest embodied energy building material available on the world market.” Quote from thesis by Robert Omahen Faculty of Economics, University of Regensburg, Germany © 2002.

Embodied energy is the sum of all energy required for the production of a building, from the acquisition of natural resources to product delivery, including mining, manufacturing of materials and equipment, transport and administrative functions. Adding all the energy components together from gypsum mining, manufacturing panels, transporting to site, and constructing a building, RAPIDWALL buildings are very low energy consumers. Even when concrete and insulation are used to fill cavities in the panels to provide insulation for single stories, and strength for multistories, the embodied energy of RAPIDWALL buildings is substantially less than other buildings. Studies have been carried out on a series of alternative building products and RAPIDWALL is less than 50% of these materials.

Eligible for Carbon Credits

RAPIDWALL has been acknowledged by the World Bank to be eligible for Carbon Credits, which we understand that RAPIDWALL is the first building material to achieve such recognition.

Air drying

In many countries in the world, RAPIDWALL building panels can be air dried in open air racks, thereby alleviating the need for kiln drying process and saving on energy.

100% recyclable
With RAPIDWALL, door and window openings are cut in the factory according to building design requirements
The partial offcuts can be used in other parts of the building project or returned to the plaster manufacturer for recycling
If not recycled, offcuts and miscellaneous remnants of panels remaining after installation are biodegradable after pulverizing

CO2

Carbon dioxide emissions are substantially less for RAPIDWALL than comparable building materials
One square metre of clay brickwork emits over 70kg of carbon dioxide compared with 7kg for the equivalent RAPIDWALL panel. The carbon dioxide emissions include production, transportation, and installation of the respective products
When panels are air dried, natural water vapor is the only emission into the atmosphere and there are no other emissions

Environment Impacts

Environmental impact clearances have so far been obtained with each plant approval in Australia, China, and India and all completely comply with Environmental guidelines set by their local Environmental Protection Boards.

Air Quality—exterior

Where gypsum is calcined, the emissions are kept well below any country’s legal limits
Plaster conveying is a minimal dust operation and any dust generated is encapsulated within the silos. Exhaust air from the dust collectors is filtered through bin vents mounted on the top of the silos and bins and then recycled.
Mobile equipment, such as fork lift trucks operating outside the factory are equipped and fully maintained with exhausts and silencers as specified by the suppliers and local regulations
Access roads surrounding the factory are either made from concrete or asphalt, minimizing airborne dust caused by traffic movement

Air Quality—exterior

The factory is ventilated via natural air flows and there are no airborne emissions from the production process of producing RAPIDWALL
Efficient dust collection removes potential dust emissions at each stage of the processing
Mobile equipment operating within the factory site is fitted with approved exhaust systems
Operators are provided with masks when handling some raw materials, as specified by the Supplier’s MSDS

Water Supply, Underground Tanks and Rain Water Harvesting

Potable water is used in the process for making RAPIDWALL building panels
Process water is sourced from local water services to the nominated industrial area
Additional water is sourced from the recycling process, water stored in underground tanks, and by harvesting rain water

Recycled Plaster

In the final stages of molding and forming RAPIDWALL building panels, excess plaster slurry is screeded from the surface of the panels. This material is collected by the operators, placed in containers, and recycled by the plaster manufacturer and/or supplier for reuse in the process

All raw materials are carefully selected to avoid the use of toxic and hazardous substances in the production process. Plaster (CaSO4, 0.5H2O) is the main raw material, which is made from naturally occurring or industrial gypsum. It is a fully biodegradable material when pulverized finely and water is added, forming gypsum.

Sourcing Raw Materials

All raw materials are derived from natural minerals and natural vegetable sources. There are no animal materials present throughout the process.

Plaster

Gypsum plaster is the main raw material used for making SAKANNwall building panels and is produced by calcining natural gypsum rock or industrial waste gypsum with the chemical name of calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4, 2H2O). Natural gypsum is mined, transported from a local source, and converted into plaster by local manufacturers. The chemical name for plaster is calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4, 0.5H2O). Gypsum and plaster are both slightly soluble in water and are considered nonhazardous substances.

Respect for Local Customs and Religious Beliefs

RAPIDWALL building panels are manufactured in a number of countries throughout the world. The respective customs and religions are high priorities for consideration before, during, and after building new plants. In this regard, great care has been taken to remain sensitive towards these important items