Low-Carbon Sustainable Composites from Waste Phosphogypsum and Their Environmental Impacts

• Main Authors: Kai Ren, Na Cui, Shuyuan Zhao, Kai Zheng, Xia Ji, Lichao Feng, Xin Cheng, Ning Xie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: phosphogypsum; building materials; composites; recycling; environmental impact
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/7/719

Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial waste from the production of phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer. Disposal and landfill of PG pose significant environmental problems due to its hazardous components. Although many researchers have explored the possibility of PG recycling, challenges still exist before it can be high-effectively reused. In particular, a great deal of recent attention has been attracted to explore using PG as raw material to manufacture sustainable composites. The impurities movement, recycling efficiency, and environmental impacts have to be further investigated. This review article summarized the state of the art of the purification process, application areas, and the environmental impacts of PG waste. The main challenges and potential application approaches were discussed. This article is focused on reviewing the details of the PG reusing which benefits the readers on learning the knowledge from previous efforts. The main challenges of reusing PG were discussed from the chemical, physical, and materials perspectives.