Structure-function-guided upcycling of mineral industrial wastes: Compositional pathways, materials design and sustainability constraints

Mineral industrial wastes represent a critical bottleneck in the global transition toward carbon neutrality and a circular economy. Conventional recycling paradigms predominantly rely on low-value bulk consumption in the construction sector, treating wastes as inert fillers. To transcend this, we conducted a systematic literature review using Web of Science and Scopus (2015-2026) to construct a qualitative structure-function-guided framework for waste upcycling. This framework evaluates upcycling efficacy based on active-component utilization, structural designability, and functional output. We categorize these wastes into three prototypical, albeit sometimes overlapping, systems-Ca-Si-rich, Al-Si-rich, and Fe/Ti-enriched wastes-and elucidate their divergent thermodynamic and structural evolutionary pathways toward structural, porous, and magnetic/catalytic materials. Furthermore, we distill the driving mechanisms of functionalization, emphasizing phase engineering, multiscale architectural reconstruction, and defect/interfacial modulation. Finally, we critically assess the sustainability constraints and boundaries of current "high-value" claims, identifying critical limitations in the existing literature, including high energy and chemical consumption, contaminant leaching risks, scale-up barriers, and market capacity.