Phosphogypsum recycling: A review of environmental issues, current trends, and prospects

Abstract

The problem of recycling and storage of phosphogypsum is topical for many countries around the world, as it is associated with environmental problems of pollution of water bodies, land, and atmosphere. Therefore, this paper analyzes the directions of phosphogypsum recycling and possible alternatives to its use. The main disadvantages of the existing methods of phosphogypsum processing were identified and trends in this waste management were also considered. Through the VOSviewer programme, a visualization of cluster interconnections was carried out in research publications of various fields of phosphogypsum utilization. Five clusters were formed: a red cluster—phosphogypsum recycling in the construction industry; green cluster— radiation pollution problem of phosphogypsum and phosphate fertilizers; yellow cluster— monitoring migration of phosphogypsum components in the ecosystem, with the mobile forms of heavy metals and their inflow into aquifers from phosphogypsum dumps; blue cluster—use of phosphogypsum in agriculture as an ameliorant and a component of fertilizer; and a purple cluster—the impact of phosphogypsum on microorganisms, particularly in bioremediation processes. Under the proposed integrated biochemical approach, the use of various bioprocesses of phosphogypsum recovery from waste dumps and implementation of new biotechnological solutions for processing phosphorus raw materials are presented.