From Waste Mineralogy to Catalytic Reactivity: Decoding Mineral-Derived Platforms for Persulfate-Based Advanced Water Treatment

The valorization of mineral wastes into functional catalysts provides a promising route for integrating solid waste management with advanced water purification. However, the catalytic potential of waste-derived materials is still commonly interpreted from elemental composition or preparation-induced performance enhancement, leaving the fundamental link between waste mineralogy and catalytic reactivity largely unresolved. This review introduces the concept of a mineralogical catalytic fingerprint (MCF) to establish a mechanistic framework connecting mineral origin, structural reconstruction, active-site evolution, and PMS/PDS activation behavior. Unlike conventional composition-based interpretations, the MCF framework highlights the decisive roles of mineral phases, element occurrence modes, defect chemistry, coordination environments, electronic structures, and oxidant interaction characteristics in determining catalytic pathways. The transformation of mine tailings and coal-derived mineral wastes into PMS/PDS activation platforms is systematically discussed, focusing on mineral reconstruction induced by acid treatment, thermal conversion, alkali activation, and interface engineering. The relationships among reconstructed active centers, radical and non-radical oxidation pathways, pollutant transformation, and catalyst stability are critically evaluated. Furthermore, the challenges associated with realistic wastewater applications, including matrix interference, metal leaching, catalyst recovery, reactor design, and life-cycle sustainability, are examined. By shifting the paradigm from waste composition-driven catalyst development toward mineralogy-guided catalytic design, this review provides an interpretive framework for understanding and engineering sustainable mineral-based catalysts, while establishing a basis for future predictive screening in practical persulfate oxidation processes.