Carbonation reaction in phosphogypsum waste conversion to calcium acetate: experiment and kinetic model study

Xiongjie Hu; Zhongjun Li; Qian Tan; Xinhong Qiu; Ruan Chi

doi:10.1515/ijcre-2024-0213

Article

Carbonation reaction in phosphogypsum waste conversion to calcium acetate: experiment and kinetic model study

Xiongjie Hu , Zhongjun Li , Qian Tan , Xinhong Qiu and Ruan Chi

Published/Copyright: June 26, 2025

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From the journal International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Volume 23 Issue 5

Abstract

The high cost of utilizing phosphogypsum resources and the low added value of the resulting product represent significant challenges that have limited the large-scale use of phosphogypsum. This work proposes an approach for the valorization of phosphogypsum by converting it into high-value calcium acetate. To enhance the reaction rate and control the overall cost, the carbonation reaction – an essential step influencing product quality in the production of calcium acetate from phosphogypsum – was systematically investigated from a kinetic perspective. The results show that the carbonation reaction follows the shrinking-core model. A kinetic equation was developed within the temperature range of 25–40 °C and sodium carbonate concentration range of 200–350 mol m⁻³, and the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant was established. The experimental results indicate that the carbonation process exhibits a low activation energy. A calcium carbonate purity exceeding 90 % was achieved by reacting phosphogypsum in 0.25 M sodium carbonate solution at room temperature for 10 min. In addition, the removal of impurities originating from phosphogypsum during the reaction process was also discussed, and the final calcium acetate product was characterized to confirm its high purity and structural integrity. The proposed method holds significant potential for reducing production costs and promoting the large-scale, value-added utilization of phosphogypsum.

Keywords: calcium acetate; phosphogypsum; reaction kinetics

Corresponding author: Xinhong Qiu, Hubei Three Gorges Laboratory, Yichang, 443007, China; and School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China, E-mail: qiuxh@wit.edu.cn

Funding source: Nature Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2024AFD190

Funding source: Innovative Team program of Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2021CFA032

Funding source: open funding of Wuhan Institute of Technology Jingmen Research Institute of New Chemical Materials Industry Technology

Award Identifier / Grant number: JM2023001

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Nature Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (2024AFD190). The author also would like to thank the Innovative Team program of Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2021CFA032) for their financial support, open funding of Wuhan Institute of Technology Jingmen Research Institute of New Chemical Materials Industry Technology (JM2023001).

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: Xiongjie Hu: Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Zhongjun Li: Methodology, Investigation. Qian Tan: Investigation, Data curation. Xinhong Qiu: Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Data curation, Supervision. Ruan Chi: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: All other authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: Nature Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (2024AFD190). The author also would like to thank the Innovative Team program of Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2021CFA032) for their financial support, open funding of Wuhan Institute of Technology Jingmen Research Institute of New Chemical Materials Industry Technology (JM2023001).
Data availability: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Received: 2024-10-22

Accepted: 2025-06-14

Published Online: 2025-06-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2024-0213

Keywords for this article

calcium acetate; phosphogypsum; reaction kinetics