Preparation of hardened tiles from waste phosphogypsum by a new intermittent pressing hydration

The solid waste phosphogypsum (PG), as the sole-raw material, was processed into hardened tiles with favorable mechanical strength by a novel intermittent pressing hydration process. First, the raw PG with dihydrate gypsum was dehydrated into semi-hydrate gypsum. The dehydrated PG was granulated with water, press-formed, and then immersed in water under intermittent pressing. Using the optimal granulation humidity of 35%, pressing pressure of 20 MPa, pressing frequency of once per 2 min and total times of 24, PG hardened tiles with bending strength of 18.9 MPa was obtained. It was revealed that the dehydrated PG was hydrated into the dense dihydrate gypsum crystals under the action of intermittent pressing, which contributed to the high mechanical strength of the tiles. The hardened tile has the potential to be a new-type wall material and its application may help to solve PG׳s environmental risk.