Revisiting phosphogypsum utilization: Technological bottlenecks, emerging solutions, and the path toward commercial viability

This review identifies the efficient removal of impurities—such as phosphorus, fluorine, heavy metals, and radionuclides—as the key bottleneck to its utilization. It examines the principles and limitations of current pre-treatment methods (physical, chemical, and thermal) and evaluates utilization pathways in construction, soil amendment, ecological restoration, chemical recovery, and CO2 fixation.

While these approaches are diversifying, they often face constraints like high cost, low product value, limited long-term assessment, and poor economic viability. Future efforts should prioritize high-value, large-scale applications—like mineral carbonation for CO2 sequestration and rare earth extraction—based on advanced impurity separation. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) framework is essential to align PG management with circular economy goals (waste assimilation, emission reduction, resource recovery).