The discharge and accumulation of coal-based solid waste have caused great harm to the ecological environment recently. Coal-based solid wastes, such as coal gangue and fly ash, are rich in valuable components, such as rare earth elements (REY), silicon dioxide, alkali metal oxides, and transition metal oxides, which can be used to synthesize various functional Si-based porous materials. This article systematically summarizes the physicochemical characteristics and general processing methods of coal gangue and fly ash and reviews the progress in the application of porous materials prepared from these two solid wastes in the fields of energy and environmental protection, including the following: the adsorption treatment of heavy metal ions, ionic dyes, and organic pollutants in wastewater; the adsorption treatment of CO2, SO2, NOx, and volatile organic compounds in waste gas; the energy regeneration of existing resources, such as waste plastics, biomass, H2, and CO; and the preparation of Li-Si batteries. Combining the composition, structure, and action mechanism of various solid-waste-based porous materials, this article points out their strengths and weaknesses in the above applications. Furthermore, ideas for improvements in the applications, performance improvement methods, and energy consumption reduction processes of typical solid-waste-based porous materials are presented in this article. These works will deepen our understanding of the application of solid-waste-based porous materials in wastewater treatment, waste gas treatment, energy regeneration, and other aspects, as well as providing assistance for the integration of new technologies into solid-waste-based porous material preparation industries, and providing new ideas for reducing and reusing typical Chinese solid waste resources.
Keywords: Si-based porous material; coal gangue; energy and environmental protection; fly ash; resource utilization.