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Characterization of phosphate rock and phosphogypsum from Gabes phosphate fertilizer factories (SE Tunisia): high mining potential and implications for environmental protection

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Abstract

Since the establishment of the coastal industrial complex in Gabes city (Gulf of Gabes, SE Tunisia), hundred million tons of untreated phosphogypsum have been discharged in the open sea causing serious environmental problems. To better understand the dynamic and behavior of phosphate/phosphogypsum contaminants from raw ores to marine environment, a chemical, organic, mineralogical, and morphological characterization of phosphate rock and phosphogypsum was conducted using several sophisticated techniques. The chemical analysis showed that phosphate and phosphogypsum contain high loads of trace elements and that the transfer factors of pollutants varied from 5.83% (U) to 140% (Hg). Estimated annual flows of phosphogypsum contaminants into the marine environment ranged between 0.05 (Re) and 87,249.60 (F) tons. The phosphate rock was found to be formed by carbonate fluorapatite, calcite, dolomite, natural gypsum, quartz, calcite-Mg, apatite, pyrite, fluorite, and sphalerite-Cd and phosphogypsum by synthetic gypsum and sphalerite-Cd. The phosphate was found to be richer in organic compounds compared to phosphogypsum. Based on this work, the Tunisian phosphogypsum has a high mining potential and encourages the development of an economically beneficial and environmentally friendly phosphogypsum-treating industry.

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Acknowledgements

This work is dedicated to the memory of Nader Chkiwa (28/04/1986–08/08/2017), the ex-president of the “Association de la Protection de l’Oasis de Chatt Sidi Abd Essalam,” for providing the phosphate rock and phosphogypsum samples. The authors would like to thank all those who helped in the conduction of laboratory analyses. We are also grateful to the reviewers who contributed to the improvement of the quality of the manuscript through their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Université de Toulouse, UMR 5563 CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Radhouan El Zrelli, Sylvie Castet & Pierre Courjault-Radé

  2. Institut National Agronomique de Tunis (INAT), Université de Carthage, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, 1082, Tunis, Maharajène, Tunisia

    Radhouan El Zrelli & Nejla Bejaoui

  3. Faculty of Science of Tunis, Research Unit of Integrative Biology and Evolutionary and Functional Ecology of Aquatic Systems, University Campus, University of Tunis El Manar, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Lotfi Rabaoui

  4. Marine Studies Section, Center for Environment and Water, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Lotfi Rabaoui

  5. CEMES-CNRS and Université de Toulouse, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France

    Nabil Daghbouj

  6. Laboratoire de Chimie Hétérocyclique, Produits Naturels et Réactivités, Faculté des Sciences de Monastir, Avenue de l’Environnement, 5000, Monastir, Tunisia

    Heithem Abda

  7. UMS CASTAING, Université de Toulouse, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Claudie Josse

  8. LEGOS, Laboratoire d’Études en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (CNRS/CNES/IRD/UPS), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Pieter van Beek & Marc Souhaut

  9. SADEF, 30 Rue de la Station, 68700, Aspach le Bas, France

    Sylvain Michel

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  1. Radhouan El Zrelli
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  2. Lotfi Rabaoui
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  4. Heithem Abda
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Correspondence to Radhouan El Zrelli.

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El Zrelli, R., Rabaoui, L., Daghbouj, N. et al. Characterization of phosphate rock and phosphogypsum from Gabes phosphate fertilizer factories (SE Tunisia): high mining potential and implications for environmental protection. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 14690–14702 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1648-4

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