Ecological properties of phosphogypsum and its products: biogeosystem technique for management

Abstract

In dried form, phosphogypsum is a fine powder, which becomes loose and prone to lump formation, and in the case of long-term storage in a fixed layer, it becomes caked. Hundreds of millions of tons of industrial waste phosphogypsum are available in five regions of Ukraine: Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Rivne, and Cherkassy. The main source of environmental pollution in the areas of mineral fertilizer production (in Ukraine, these are Armyansk, Sumy, and Rivne) is phosphogypsum. The sulfuric acid method of opening the apatite concentrate produces 4,3-5,8 tons of phosphogypsum per 1 ton of H3PO4, depending on the raw materials and the adopted technology. At dry storage of phosphogypsum (without preliminary neutralization), about 10 g of fluorine per 1 ton of phosphogypsum is released into the gas phase, and approximately 10% of fluorine is washed out by atmospheric precipitation. Phosphogypsum should be stored in specially equipped storages isolated from water bodies. Phosphogypsum has to be neutralized with lime milk before it is placed in the storage facility [1]. Conclusions. The issue of phosphogypsum utilization is worth reconsidering by improving the technical solutions and technologies of phosphogypsum disposal to use beneficial constituents of potential value in the life cycle. Regulation of the use of chemical waste needs to be revised, taking the maximum potential of the material, with environmentally friendly cycles closing in phosphogypsum biogeosystem management.