Questions about "本" as Pronoun
As a pronoun 本 has two meanings, here’s oxfords definitions and example sentences

 PRONOUN
1 自己方面的 one's own
本单位
one's own department
本校
our school
▶ 本地, 本国, 本人
2 这 this
本案被告
defendant in this case
本合同
the present contract
本星期

In the second meaning you can see it means the same as 这 - so to answer question number one: yeah pretty much any noun can come after it but this is markedly more formal than 这 or 这个 - might sound very 官腔 if you were to use it in casual speech.
To answer question number two, when should we normally use 本 as a pronoun there are quite a few instances:
本周 if you’re a Starbucks guy this is a big one - this is their terminology for brewed coffee as opposed to espresso based drinks. If you’re preparing public speaking addresses 本周 is okay for this week as well but a bit stuffy for my liking.
本人 is good for addressing others personally like:

你本人怎么想呢？

本地 is another common one used often in conversation.