The buildings and construction sector is a major contributor to global environmental impact, accounting for 34% of global energy demand and 37% of energy- and process-related CO2 emissions in 2022. This context motivates the development of alternative construction materials with lower embodied energy and reduced environmental impact. In this study, vibrocompressed calcium sulfate prefabricated elements were developed and experimentally evaluated as an alternative to conventional concrete-based units. Unlike traditional gypsum molding processes, the proposed vibrocompression route enables the production of semi-dry mixtures with reduced water content, allowing rapid demolding and palletization within 10–20 min. The study was designed as a process-validation campaign under real industrial production conditions (LOREV 1010/A), combined with an initial technical characterization of the manufactured units. The experimental program focused on manufacturing feasibility and on the initial physical and mechanical characterization of the prefabricated elements, including aggregate granulometric control, dry density, normalized compressive strength, and microstructural observations. Under the selected process conditions, the units reached normalized compressive strength values of up to 2.90 N/mm2 and dry density values of approximately 1228 kg/m3, indicating technical suitability for non-load-bearing applications. From a process-route perspective, the cement-free formulation and the use of gypsum-based aggregates support the technical plausibility of a more circular construction system. The environmental and economic implications of the proposed system are discussed from a preliminary process perspective and should be quantified in future life cycle and techno-economic assessments.
Cabrera et al. (Tue,) studied this question.