Study on the Properties of Waste Apatite Phosphogypsum as a Raw Material of Prospective Applications

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the study on chemical and the physical properties of waste phosphogypsum (PG) of apatite origin from the former chemical plant Wizow, Poland which are important for further processing and economic use. The research was carried out to verify whether the waste might be useful as a raw material for rare earth elements (REE) recovery and the manufacture of building materials. The following methods were chosen: X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray detector, atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry, and gamma spectrometry with natural radioactive contamination analyzer. It has been proven that the chemical physical properties of phosphogypsum provide an opportunity to utilize this waste material as a source of REE and raw material for building purposes. PG contains an overall amount of REE in the interval of 0.343–0.637% by mass and does not show radioactivity level which would exclude it from construction purposes. The presented results serve as the basis for currently available technological directions in the management of apatite PG for useful trade products, which creates a chance for the elimination of its storage necessity by further processing.