With the growing awareness of environmental protection among humans and the rising global standards and requirements for environmental protection, the environmental protection industry is emerging as one of the most promising new industries. Many non-metallic mineral materials—such as calcium carbonate, quartz, kaolin, talc, diatomaceous earth, zeolites, bentonite, attapulgite, and sepiolite—when processed, acquire the ability to selectively adsorb harmful substances as well as various organic and inorganic pollutants. Moreover, these materials are readily available, do not generate secondary pollution themselves, and hold great potential for making significant contributions to the remediation of environmental pollution.

　　Recently, an article published on Powder Technology Network listed six specific areas in which non-metallic mineral materials play a role in pollution control—

　　First, its application in wastewater treatment specifically includes the removal of heavy metal ions from water, the degradation of organic pollutants in water, and the removal of inorganic pollutants from water.

　　Low-cost natural mineral materials exhibit self-purifying properties against various pollutants and can be used for large-scale pollution control. Many countries—especially developed nations—place great importance on the application of non-metallic minerals in wastewater treatment. Examples include montmorillonite, rhyolite, sepiolite, zeolites, wollastonite, tourmaline, diatomaceous earth, calcite, and apatite, all of which have been utilized to varying degrees in the remediation of water pollution.

　　In addition to treating wastewater, non-metallic minerals can also improve water quality. For example, the drinking water on the Xisha Islands is produced by treating locally sourced volcanic breccia containing zeolites, which removes organic matter from seawater, reduces mineralization, and lowers the concentrations of ammonium ions and nitrate radicals, ultimately meeting standard drinking-water specifications.

　　Second, its application in air pollution control, specifically including the treatment of industrial exhaust gases, coal-fired pollution control, urban air quality management, and indoor air pollution control.

　　In terms of controlling coal-fired pollution, certain environmental mineral materials that form a porous structure at high temperatures can be used as sulfur-fixing additives. These materials create an oxidizing atmosphere within the coal, effectively inhibiting the decomposition of sulfates. For example, vermiculite tailings have been shown to exhibit excellent sulfur-fixing performance. During the combustion of shaped coal, the porous structure formed by the expansion of vermiculite tailings not only enhances the efficiency of sulfur fixation in coal but also provides favorable conditions for the complete combustion of carbonaceous components in the coal. This reduces the formation of carbonaceous fly ash resulting from incomplete combustion, thereby significantly decreasing particulate matter pollution.

　　Third, its application in solid waste management, specifically including the secondary resource utilization of solid waste and seepage prevention in landfills.

　　Most industrial waste residues are valuable secondary resources, such as slag, fly ash, metallurgical slag, coal gangue, tailings, and red mud. The mineral composition of these wastes consists predominantly of non-metallic minerals. The primary approach to managing such pollutants is to transform them into secondary resources. For example, coal gangue has a composition similar to clay and can be used to produce bricks, cement, lightweight aggregates, and masonry mortars. Coal gangue with very low carbon content can be utilized in the production of ceramics and refractory materials.

　　Fourth, applications in the disposal of radioactive waste.

　　Currently, most countries have initially selected tuff and granite as host rocks for disposal repositories, owing to their natural barrier properties. It is precisely the well-developed pore structures in feldspar minerals found in both tuff and granite that allow radionuclides to enter these pores, effectively impeding radionuclide migration and thus serving as natural barriers.

　　Fifth, its application in the governance of land desertification.

　　Some clay mineral materials can adsorb moisture that far exceeds their own weight, giving them unique soil and water conservation capabilities. For example, after swelling in water, bentonite rapidly expands into a gel-like substance, significantly reducing its permeability. Moreover, bentonite exhibits excellent frost resistance, compressibility, and cohesion, and it has remarkable effects on the stability, compactness, self-water-retention capacity, and long-term durability of sandy soils. All these properties make bentonite one of the ideal materials for combating desertification.

　　Sixth, application in the development of eco-friendly building materials.

　　Regarding the market prospects for non-metallic mineral materials in environmental pollution control, the article points out that over the past five years, China’s total investment in environmental protection has exceeded 490 billion yuan. This not only underscores the Chinese government’s strong commitment to environmental protection but also highlights the enormous potential of the environmental protection market.

　　The article predicts that, compared to the applications of non-metallic minerals in other fields, environmental pollution control remains a relatively new area. It can be said that the development and utilization of non-metallic mineral materials represent a new direction and one of the emerging growth drivers for the non-metallic minerals industry. We believe that over the next decade, the application of non-metallic minerals in the environmental protection sector will continue to grow rapidly, with an estimated average annual growth rate of around 15%.

　　Given the broad prospects for the application of non-metallic mineral materials, what is the current state of China’s non-metallic mineral industry? According to industry experts, while China’s non-metallic mineral industry has made progress and spurred the development of many small enterprises, these small enterprises lack systematic supply-and-demand management. As a result, China is experiencing overproduction of low-end products, while there is a severe shortage of high-end products—a situation that poses significant obstacles to the development of China’s non-metallic mining sector. Therefore, industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as innovative development, have become imperative.