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Limestone Processing Sludge: From Waste to Sustainable Resource

2025-10-30Journal article Open access
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datacite.subject.sdg12:Produção e Consumo Sustentáveis
datacite.subject.sdg13:Ação Climática
datacite.subject.sdg14:Proteger a Vida Marinha
dc.contributor.authorGuedes, Mafalda
dc.contributor.authorCarrasqueira, Joana
dc.contributor.authorSeixas, Tomás
dc.contributor.authorAfonso, Clélia
dc.contributor.authorGil, Maria Manuel
dc.contributor.authorBernardino, Raul
dc.contributor.authorGamboa, Roberto
dc.contributor.authorBernardino, Susana
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-05T09:15:24Z
dc.date.available2025-11-05T09:15:24Z
dc.date.issued2025-10-30
dc.description.abstractThe limestone quarrying and processing industry generates huge amounts of waste, with limestone sludge being one of the most prevalent and challenging by-products. This study aims to evaluate the potential of limestone sludge as a sustainable secondary raw material for the mechanochemical synthesis of bioceramics, specifically hydroxyapatite (HA), for high-added-value applications in bone tissue engineering. High-energy milling is innovatively used as the processing route: dry sludge (functioning as the calcium source), a phosphate source, and water were milled with the aim of producing calcium phosphates (in particular, hydroxyapatite) via mechanosynthesis. The industrial sludge was thoroughly analyzed for chemical composition, heavy metals, and mineral phases to ensure suitability for biomedical applications. The mixture of reagents was tailored to comply with Ca/P = 1.67 molar ratio. Milling was carried out at room temperature; the milling velocity was 600 rpm, and milling time ranged from 5 to 650 min. Characterization by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM confirmed the progressive transformation of calcite into hydroxyapatite through a metastable DCPD intermediate, following logarithmic reaction kinetics. The resulting powders are fine, homogeneous, and phase-pure, demonstrating that mechanosynthesis provides a low-cost and environmentally friendly pathway to convert limestone waste into functional bioceramic materials. This suggests that Moleanos sludge is a viable and sustainable source to produce tailored calcium phosphates and confirms mechanosynthesis as a cost-effective and reliable technology to activate the low-kinetics chemical reactions in the CaCO3-H3PO4–H2O system. This work highlights a novel circular economy approach for the valorization of industrial limestone sludge, turning a difficult waste stream into a high-value, sustainable resource.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the scope of the project UID/04292/MARE — Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente; LSRE-LCM, UIDB/50020/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/50020/2020) and UIDP/50020/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/50020/2020); ALiCE, LA/P/0045/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0045/2020); LA/P/0069/2020 (ARNET); and UIDB/04540/2020 (CeFEMA) under project PTDC/ECI-COM-28308/2017. It was also funded by the Mobilizing Agenda Sustainable Stone by Portugal—Valorization of Natural Stone for a digital, sustainable and qualified future, project number 02-C05-i01.02-2022.PC644943391-00000051, cofinanced by PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU). Tomás Seixas is grateful to FCT for the Doctoral Grant 2022.10551.BD.
dc.identifier.citationGuedes, M.; Carrasqueira, J.; Seixas, T.; Afonso, C.; Gil, M.M.; Bernardino, R.; Gamboa, R.; Bernardino, S. Limestone Processing Sludge: FromWaste to Sustainable Resource. Environments 2025, 12, 405. https://doi.org/10.3390/ environments12110405
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/environments12110405
dc.identifier.issn2076-3298
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14510
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMDPI AG
dc.relationMARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre
dc.relationLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials
dc.relationLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials
dc.relationALICE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/12/11/405
dc.relation.ispartofEnvironments
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectStone processing residues
dc.subjectLimestone sludge
dc.subjectMechanical milling
dc.subjectCalcium phosphates
dc.subjectHydroxyapatite
dc.subjectMechanosynthesis
dc.titleLimestone Processing Sludge: From Waste to Sustainable Resourceeng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleMARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre
oaire.awardTitleLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials
oaire.awardTitleLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials
oaire.awardTitleALICE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID%2FMAR%2F04292%2F2013/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F50020%2F2020/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F50020%2F2020/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0045%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.issue11
oaire.citation.titleEnvironments
oaire.citation.volume12
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameCarrasqueira
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person.givenNameJoana
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project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
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project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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