Recovery of calcium resources from phosphogypsum in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement: Decomposition mechanism and minerals formation

Wu Shuang; Ren Changzai; Yao Xingliang; Yao Yonggang; Wang Wenlong

doi:null

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Recovery of calcium resources from phosphogypsum in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement: Decomposition mechanism and minerals formation

Updated：2026-09-17

- Recovery of calcium resources from phosphogypsum in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement: Decomposition mechanism and minerals formation
- Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 95, Issue 7, Pages: 102-112(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Faculty of Light Industry, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
  School of Energy and Power Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250306, China
  School of Energy and Power Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China
  National Engineering Laboratory for Coal-fired Pollutants Emission Reduction, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
- Author bio：
  
  *Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses:wus130708@163.com(S. Wu)
  *Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses:rcz@qlu.edu.cn(C. Ren).
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Received：23 July 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-24，
  
  Accepted：01 February 2026，
  
  Online First：17 April 2026，
  
  Published：2026-07
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Wu Shuang, Ren Changzai, Yao Xingliang, et al. Recovery of calcium resources from phosphogypsum in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement: Decomposition mechanism and minerals formation[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 102-112.
DOI：

Wu Shuang, Ren Changzai, Yao Xingliang, et al. Recovery of calcium resources from phosphogypsum in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement: Decomposition mechanism and minerals formation[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 102-112. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Phosphogypsum (PG) is a solid waste generated by the phosphate fertilizer industry. The decomposition of PG allows for the separate recovery of its Ca and S resources. In this work

the decomposition of PG and formation of minerals in the preparation of sulfoaluminate cement (SAC) were studied. Thermodynamics analysis reveals that the formation of SAC minerals accelerates the decomposition of PG by incorporating CaSO

and CaO into the reaction matrix. Experimental results revealed that the formation of SAC minerals effectively reduces the decomposition temperature of PG and increases its decomposition rate. The formation of C

S has the strongest promoting effect on the decomposition of PG. The formation of

https://html.publish.founderss.cn/rc-pub/api/common/picture?pictureId=118491834&type=

https://html.publish.founderss.cn/rc-pub/api/common/picture?pictureId=118491834&type=small

https://html.publish.founderss.cn/rc-pub/api/common/picture?pictureId=118491834&type=middle

generally has a weaker effect in promoting PG decomposition. In contrast

the formation of C

AF and composite minerals not only facilitates efficient PG decomposition but also maintains system stability

preventing melting. The formation of SAC minerals is affected by the decomposition of PG

making it difficult to fully generate the target mineral. The kinetic mechanism of PG decomposition is three-dimensional diffusion reaction

while the mechanism changes to two-dimensional diffusion (cylindrical symmetry) reaction in mineral formation. This study presents novel methodologies for recycling Ca and S resour

ces from PG

paving the way for its efficient utilization.

关键词

Keywords

references

L.A.R. Valle, S.L. Rodrigues, S.J. Ramos, H.S. Pereira, D.C. Amaral, J.O. Siqueira, L.R.G. Guilherme, Beneficial use of a by-product from the phosphate fertilizer industry in tropical soils: effects on soil properties and maize and soybean growth, J. Clean. Prod. 112 (2016) 113—120.

R.B. El Zrelli, S. Fabre, S. Castet, M. Grégoire, O. Fersi, C. Josse, A.M. Cousin, P. Courjault-Radé, Unveiling the organic nature of phosphogypsum foam: insights into formation dynamics, pollution load, and contribution to marine pollution in the Southern Mediterranean Sea, J. Hazard. Mater. 480 (2024) 135732.

L.F. Lu, T. Tian, R.F. Jin, Q.Y. Ji, J.T. Zhou, Recovery of calcium and sulphur from phosphogypsum with zero by-product generation using a preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis system, Sep. Purif. Technol. 331 (2024) 125579.

F. Akfas, A. Elghali, A. Aboulaich, M. Munoz, M. Benzaazoua, J.L. Bodinier, Exploring the potential reuse of phosphogypsum: a waste or a resource, Sci. Total Environ. 908 (2024) 168196.

S.J. Zheng, M.S. Chen, T.L. Liu, G.K. Yang, G.S. Jiang, H.M. Gu, Research on compressive strength and thermal conductivity of lightweight phosphogypsum-based composite cementitious materials, Constr. Build. Mater. 436 (2024) 136955.

S. Oubaha, Y. Taha, M. Loutou, M. Oualid Mghazli, M. Benzaazoua, R. Hakkou, Fired brick production using phosphogypsum and phosphate mining waste, Constr. Build. Mater. 403 (2023) 133149.

M.X. Zhao, X.D. Li, J.X. Yu, F. Li, L. Guo, G.P. Song, C.Q. Xiao, F. Zhou, R. Chi, G. Q. Feng, Highly efficient recovery of phosphate and fluoride from phosphogypsum leachate: selective precipitation and adsorption, J. Environ. Manag. 367 (2024) 122064.

S. Zhang, J.Y. Liu, J.W. Ding, M.Y. Gao, C.R. Xue, Effect of recycled phosphogypsum and calcium aluminate ce ment on the strength behavior optimization of cement-treated dredged soil: a co-utilization of solid wastes, J. Environ. Manag. 353 (2024) 120020.

T. Feng, M.J. Huo, X.Q. Zhao, T. Wang, X. Xia, C.Y. Ma, Reduction of SO 2 to elemental sulfur with H 2 and mixed H2/CO gas in an activated carbon bed, Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 121 (2017) 191—199.

P.X. Yuan, M. Li, S.Y. Chen, W.G. Xiang, Advances in phosphogypsum calcination and decomposition processes in circulating fluidized beds, ACS Omega 9 (38) (2024) 39307—39325.

J.D. Ma, J.Z. Xu, C.H. Liu, Q. Yi, M. Zheng, L.M. Cheng, T. Song, Chemical looping combustion of sulfur paste to SO 2 by phosphogypsum oxygen carrier for sulfur acid production, Fuel 323 (2022) 124386.

F.Y. Li, Y.H. Wang, J.B. Liu, Y.X. Li, Z.M. Li, Synthesis, insecticidal evaluation and mode of action of novel anthranilic diamide derivatives containing sulfur moiety as potential ryanodine receptor activators, Bioorg. Med. Chem. 27 (5) (2019) 769—776.

S. Liu, C.R. Yang, T.F. Zhang, W. Liu, F. Jiao, W.Q. Qin, Effective recovery of calcium and sulfur resources in FGD gypsum: insights from the mechanism of reduction roasting and the conversion process of sulfur element, Sep. Purif. Technol. 314 (2023) 123537.

Q. Wang, X.J. Lyu, Q. Liu, X. Liu, W.T. Zhou, Recycle of soda waste sludge as the limestone material for Portland cement: chemical composition, physical properties and hydration mechanism, Constr. Build. Mater. 422 (2024) 135790.

N. Ijaz, W.M. Ye, Z.U. Rehman, Z. Ijaz, Novel application of low carbon limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) in expansive soil stabilization: an ecoefficient approach, J. Clean. Prod. 371 (2022) 133492.

D. Silva, C. Weber, C. Oliveira, Neutralization and uptake of pollutant cations from acid mine drainage (amd) using limestones and zeolites in a pilot-scale passive treatment system, Miner. Eng. 170 (2021) 107000.

J. Lim, H. Cho, J. Kim, Optimization of wet flue gas desulfurization system using recycled waste oyster shell as high-grade limestone substitutes, J. Clean. Prod. 318 (2021) 128492.

P.J. Xu, W.H. Liu, H. Li, Y.X. Chen, Thermal decomposition mechanism and characterization of phosphogypsum in suspension under multifactor coupling effect, Case Stud. Constr. Mater. 20 (2024) e02861.

D. Ma, Q.H. Wang, Z.H. Tian, B. Zhang, G.L. Xie, Recovery of sulphur dioxide by converter dust synergistic coke decomposition of phosphogypsum, Chem. Eng. Sci. 288 (2024) 119814.

J. Yang, S.L. Dong, L.P. Ma, Q.X. Dai, D.L. Zheng, B. Huang, M.Y. Sun, B. Hu, W. Du, L.G. Xie, L. Duan, X. Yan, Review on high-value utilization of phosphogypsum: utilization of calcium and oxygen resources present in phosphogypusm, Sep. Purif. Technol. 344 (2024) 127246.

X.D. Yan, L.P. Ma, B. Zhu, D.L. Zheng, Y. Lian, Reaction mechanism process analysis with phosphogypsum decomposition in multi-atmosphere control, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 53 (50) (2014) 19453—19459.

H.W. He, L.F. Hao, C.G. Fan, S.G. Li, W.G. Lin, A two-step approach to phosphogypsum decomposition: oxidation of CaS with CO 2 , Thermochim. Acta 708 (2022) 179122.

N. Mihara, D. Kuchar, Y. Kojima, H. Matsuda, Reductive decomposition of waste gypsum with SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and Fe 2 O 3 additives, J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 9 (1) (2007) 21—26.

J. Yang, B. Zhu, L.P. Ma, H.P. Liu, Investigation of Al 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 transmission and transformation during the decomposition of phosphogypsum, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 27 (5) (2019) 1125—1131.

L.J. Zhao, T.M. Wan, X.S. Yang, L. Yang, X.J. Kong, Z.Y. Zhang, X.L. Wang, Effects of kaolinite addition on the melting characteristics of the reaction between phosphogypsum and CaS, J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 119 (3) (2015) 2119—2126.

S. Wu, X.L. Yao, C.Z. Ren, Y.G. Yao, W.L. Wang, Recycling phosphogypsum as a sole calcium oxide source in calcium sulfoaluminate cement and its environmental effects, J. Environ. Manag. 271 (2020) 110986.

S. Wu, X.L. Yao, C.Z. Ren, Y.G. Yao, C. Zhang, C.L. Wu, W.L. Wang, Effect of iron on the preparation of iron-rich calcium sulfoatablluminate cement using gypsum as the sole calcium oxide source and its incorporation into mineral phases, Constr. Build. Mater. 290 (2021) 123214.

S. Wu, Y.G. Yao, X.L. Yao, C.Z. Ren, J.W. Li, D. Xu, W.L. Wang, Co-pr eparation of calcium sulfoaluminate cement and sulfuric acid through mass utilization of industrial by-product gypsum, J. Clean. Prod. 265 (2020) 121801.

C.Q. Zhang, P. Chen, J.Z. Wei, Z.J. Ouyang, W.X. Lv, Effect of different calcination temperatures on clinker and hydration properties of solid wastebased calcium sulfoaluminate cement, Constr. Build. Mater. 452 (2024) 138938.

Y. Shen, J.S. Qian, J.Q. Chai, Y.Y. Fan, Calcium sulphoaluminate cements made with phosphogypsum: production issues and material properties, Cem. Concr. Compos. 48 (2014) 67—74.

A. Kirfel, G. Will, Charge density in anhydrite, CaSO 4 , from X-ray and neutron diffraction measurements, Acta Crystallogr. B 36 (12) (1980) 2881—2890.

S. John Louisnathan, Refinement of the crystal structure of a natural gehlenite, Ca 2 Al(Al, Si) 2 O 7 , Can. Mineral. 10 (1971) 822—837.

R.M. Hazen, L.W. Finger, R.J. Hemley, H.K. Mao, High-pressure crystal chemistry and amorphization of α-quartz, Solid State Commun. 72 (5) (1989) 507—511.

J. Berggren, O. Foss, I. Roti, H. Okinaka, K. Kosuge, S. Kachi, Refinement of the crystal structure of dicalcium ferrite, Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 , Acta Chem. Scand. 25 (1971) 3616—3624.

W. Hörkner, H. Müller-Buschbaum, Zur kristallstruktur von CaAl 2 O 4 , J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem. 38 (5) (1976) 983—984.

H. Saalfeld, W. Depmeier, Silicon-free compounds with sodalite structure, Krist. Tech. 7 (1—3) (1972) 229—233.

T. Yamanaka, H. Mori, The structure and polytypes of α-CaSiO 3 (pseudowollastonite), Acta Crystallogr. B 37 (5) (1981) 1010—1017.

W. Mumme, R.J. Hill, G. Bushnell-Wye, A.K. Aride, J.E. Jørgensen, Rietveld crystal structure refinement, crystal chemistry and calculated powder diffraction data for the polymorphs of dicalcium silicate and related phases, Neues Jahrbuch Mineral. Abhand. 169 (1995) 35—68.

A.A. Colville, S. Geller, The crystal structure of brownmillerite, Ca 2 FeAlO5, Acta Crystallogr. B 27 (12) (1971) 2311—2315.

J.R. Castillo-Sánchez, K. Oishi, L. St-Germain, D. Ait-Amer, J.P. Harvey, The power of computational thermochemistry in high-temperature process design and optimization: part 1: unit operations, Calphad 82 (2023) 102593.

I.C. Popovici, S. Dobrinas¸, A. Soceanu, V. Popescu, G. Prodan, I. Omer, New approaches for Pb(II) removal from aqueous media using nanopowder sodium titanosilicate: kinetics study and thermodynamic behavior, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 24 (18) (2023) 13789.

C.W. Bale, E. Bélisle, P. Chartrand, S.A. Decterov, G. Eriksson, A.E. Gheribi, K. Hack, I.H. Jung, Y.B. Kang, J. Melançon, A.D. Pelton, S. Petersen, C. Robelin, J. Sangster, P. Spencer, M.A. Van Ende, FactSage thermochemical software and databases, 2010—2016, Calphad 54 (2016) 35—53.

P.J. Xu, H. Li, Y.X. Chen, Experimental study on optimization of phosphogypsum suspension decomposition conditions under double catalysis, Materials 14 (5) (2021) 1120.

H.L. Liu, Y. Zhang, X.X. Lv, M.S. Cui, K.P. Cui, Z.L. Dai, B. Wang, R. Weerasooriya, X. Chen, Efficient degradation of sulfamethoxazole by diatomitesupported hydroxyl-modified UIO-66 photocatalyst after calcination, Nanomaterials 13 (24) (2023) 3116.

B.G. Ma, W.D. Lu, Y. Su, Y.B. Li, C. Gao, X.Y. He, Synthesis of α-hemihydrate gypsum from cleaner phosphogypsum, J. Clean. Prod. 195 (2018) 396—405.

L.P. Ma, X.K. Niu, J. Hou, S.C. Zheng, W.J. Xu, Reaction mechanism and influence factors analysis for calcium sulfide generation in the process of phosphogypsum decomposition, Thermochim. Acta 526 (1—2) (2011) 163—168.

R. Roy, T. Hertel, A. Muhammad, Y. Pontikes, A methodology to enhance ye'elimite in calcium sulfo-aluminate ferrite clinker from bauxite residue, Constr. Build. Mater. 446 (2024) 137968.

S. Vyazovkin, A.K. Burnham, J.M. Criado, L.A. Pérez-Maqueda, C. Popescu, N. Sbirrazzuoli, ICTAC Kinetics Committee recommendations for performing kinetic computations on thermal analysis data, Thermochim. Acta 520 (1—2) (2011) 1—19.

Z.Q. Yan, Z.A. Wang, H. Liu, Y.J. Tu, W. Yang, H.C. Zeng, J.R. Qiu, Decomposition and solid reactions of calcium sulfate doped with SiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 , J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 113 (2015) 491—498.

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

Thermochemical decomposition of phosphogypsum with Fe-P slag via a solid-state reaction

Influence mechanism and regulation strategy of atmospheric conditions on the thermal decomposition of phosphogypsum

Study of defluorination by thermal treatment of phosphogypsum under steam atmosphere

Thermodynamic properties and reaction mechanism of coal reductive decomposition phosphogypsum to prepare CaO and SO2

Rate-limiting factors in hydrate decomposition through depressurization across various scales: A mini-review

Related Author

Qiang Zhao

Chunhui Luo

Quande Li

Yan Sun

Xiushan Yang

Zhongjun Zhao

Lei Sun

Ni Hongwei

Related Institution

Dongfang Electric Corporation Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd

State Key Laboratory of Long-Life High Temperature Materials

School of Mechanical Engineering, Chengdu University

School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University

Yunnan Academy of Ecological and Environmental Sciences

⁰