Flash valorization of waste phosphogypsum enables simultaneous rare earth recovery and waste-derived sorbent production
4 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Iron and Steel Industry Environmental Protection, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Iron and Steel Industry Environmental Protection, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tanwei College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- 3Engineering Research Center of Eco-environment in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
- 4State Key Laboratory of Iron and Steel Industry Environmental Protection, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Corresponding author
Abstract
Phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphate fertilizer production with a global annual output of hundreds of millions of tonnes, poses environmental challenges but also opportunities as a secondary resource. Current recycling approaches often suffer from poor economic viability due to inefficient material utilization and low-value products. Here, we demonstrate a rapid flash carbothermic reduction process for phosphogypsum valorization, enabling simultaneous rare earth recovery and eco-material synthesis. By blending phosphogypsum with conductive carbon and applying a pulsed current for seconds, it is converted into calcium sulfide. This disrupts the lattice, liberating rare earths and transforming hard-to-dissolve species into soluble oxides or oxysulfides, achieving recovery >96%. The calcium sulfide residue also functions as an efficient heavy metal adsorbent comparable with commercial materials. Environmental and economic analyses indicate >83% lower greenhouse gas emissions and >87% lower operating costs. This integrated, scalable strategy offsets processing costs through value-added products, supporting waste mitigation and sustainable material production. Science for society: The transition to a low-carbon economy relies on rare earth elements for technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. However, rare earth extraction is often associated with environmental burdens, while large amounts of industrial waste, such as phosphogypsum from phosphate fertilizer production, remain underutilized and pose long-term pollution risks. This study addresses these two challenges through an electricity-driven flash carbothermal reduction process that converts phosphogypsum into useful products within seconds. The process disrupts the stable phosphogypsum structure, enabling more than 96% rare earth recovery under optimized conditions. At the same time, the calcium sulfide-rich residue generated during the process can be used as an effective sorbent for removing heavy metals from wastewater. By recovering critical elements and producing functional materials from the same waste stream, this approach improves the overall value of phosphogypsum utilization. Environmental and economic analyses further suggest that the process can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs compared with other recovery routes, while the value of recovered rare earths and sorbent products may support economic viability. This work provides a practical strategy for turning an abundant industrial by-product into both critical resources and environmental remediation materials, offering a potential pathway toward more sustainable phosphate industry waste management and circular resource use.
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BibTeX
@article{feng2026flash,
title = {{Flash valorization of waste phosphogypsum enables simultaneous rare earth recovery and waste-derived sorbent production}},
author = {Erkang Feng and Zhenyu Ren and Teng Wang and Mingyue Xu and Yusufujiang Mubula and Jinkai Zhang and Hao Bi and Yanze Liu and Zefang Yin and Haojie Wang and Bing Deng},
journal = {Cell Reports Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100777},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100777},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Flash valorization of waste phosphogypsum enables simultaneous rare earth recovery and waste-derived sorbent production
AU - Erkang Feng
AU - Zhenyu Ren
AU - Teng Wang
AU - Mingyue Xu
AU - Yusufujiang Mubula
AU - Jinkai Zhang
AU - Hao Bi
AU - Yanze Liu
AU - Zefang Yin
AU - Haojie Wang
AU - Bing Deng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Cell Reports Sustainability
DO - 10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100777
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100777
AB - Phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphate fertilizer production with a global annual output of hundreds of millions of tonnes, poses environmental challenges but also opportunities as a secondary resource. Current recycling approaches often suffer from poor economic viability due to inefficient material utilization and low-value products. Here, we demonstrate a rapid flash carbothermic reduction process for phosphogypsum valorization, enabling simultaneous rare earth recovery and eco-material synthesis. By blending phosphogypsum with conductive carbon and applying a pulsed current for seconds, it is converted into calcium sulfide. This disrupts the lattice, liberating rare earths and transforming hard-to-dissolve species into soluble oxides or oxysulfides, achieving recovery >96%. The calcium sulfide residue also functions as an efficient heavy metal adsorbent comparable with commercial materials. Environmental and economic analyses indicate >83% lower greenhouse gas emissions and >87% lower operating costs. This integrated, scalable strategy offsets processing costs through value-added products, supporting waste mitigation and sustainable material production. Science for society: The transition to a low-carbon economy relies on rare earth elements for technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. However, rare earth extraction is often associated with environmental burdens, while large amounts of industrial waste, such as phosphogypsum from phosphate fertilizer production, remain underutilized and pose long-term pollution risks. This study addresses these two challenges through an electricity-driven flash carbothermal reduction process that converts phosphogypsum into useful products within seconds. The process disrupts the stable phosphogypsum structure, enabling more than 96% rare earth recovery under optimized conditions. At the same time, the calcium sulfide-rich residue generated during the process can be used as an effective sorbent for removing heavy metals from wastewater. By recovering critical elements and producing functional materials from the same waste stream, this approach improves the overall value of phosphogypsum utilization. Environmental and economic analyses further suggest that the process can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs compared with other recovery routes, while the value of recovered rare earths and sorbent products may support economic viability. This work provides a practical strategy for turning an abundant industrial by-product into both critical resources and environmental remediation materials, offering a potential pathway toward more sustainable phosphate industry waste management and circular resource use.
SN - 2949-7906
ER -