Abstract: Cement is produced by forming a moist mixture of a flue gas desulfurization process waste product containing 80-95 percent by weight calcium sulfite hemihydrate and 5-20 percent by weight calcium sulfate hemihydrate, aluminum, iron, silica and carbon, agglomerating the moist mixture while drying the same to form a feedstock, and calcining the dry agglomerated feedstock in a rotary kiln. Sulfur dioxide released from the calcium sulfite hemihydrate and calcium sulfate hemihydrate during calcination may be used to produce sulfuric acid, while heat recovered in the process is used to dry the agglomerating feedstock.

Abstract: A wet scrubbing method for removal of sulfur dioxide from a gaseous stream uses a magnesium-enhanced lime scrubbing aqueous slurry, where a solids content in the aqueous slurry in a wet scrubbing unit is maintained at an amount of between 13 to 20 percent by weight. A bleed stream is removed from the aqueous scrubbing slurry at a pH of between 4.5-5.6 and fed to an oxidizing unit wherein calcium sulfite is oxidized to gypsum. The gypsum and residual solids in the discharge from the oxidizing unit are separated to produce a clarified solution, which is returned to the wet scrubbing unit.