Abstract
Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial by-product of the transformation of phosphate rocks. For decades, PG has been a source of environmental concern due to the massive amount produced thus far, i.e., 7 billion tons, with a current production rate of 200–280 million tons per year. Phosphate minerals contain various impurities that precipitate and concentrate within PG. These impurities hinder PG usability in various sectors. This paper aims to purify PG using an innovative process based on staged valorization of PG. Initially, PG dissociation by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was optimized. After screening of different parameters and monitoring the ionic conductivity of solutions, it was disclosed that a pH-dependent solubilization process in the presence of EDTA resulted in high solubility of PG, up to 11.82 g/100 mL at pH > 11. Subsequently, a recovery of the purified PG by selective precipitation of calcium sulfate dihydrate (CSD) from obtained filtrate through pH adjustment to 3.5 were investigated. An abatement of 99.34% Cr, 97.15% Cd, 95.73% P2O5, 92.75% Cu, 92.38% Al2O3, 91.16% Ni, 74.58% Zn, 72.75% F, 61.43% MgO, 58.8% Fe2O3, 56.97% K2O, and 55.41% Ba was achieved. The process relied on the variation of EDTA chelation properties towards monovalent, divalent, and trivalent cations at different pHs. According to the findings of this study, a staged purification process in the presence of EDTA is an effective method for removing impurities from the industrial PG.
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This work was supported by the Foundation OCP [grant numbers AS15]; and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization, investigation, methodology, formal analysis, writing (original draft), writing (review and editing), visualization, and validation were performed by Hamza CHANOURI. Formal analysis, analysis and characterization, investigation, and validation were performed by Khalid AGAYR. Resources, analysis and characterization, funding acquisition, and project administration were performed by El Mahdi Mounir. Supervision, funding acquisition, project administration, and writing (review and editing) were performed by Rachid BENHIDA. Conceptualization, supervision, funding acquisition, project administration, resources, and writing (review and editing) were performed by Khaoula KHALESS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Hamza CHANOURI, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Chanouri, H., Agayr, K., Mounir, E.M. et al. Staged purification of phosphogypsum using pH-dependent separation process. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 9920–9934 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26199-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26199-8