World Resources of Phosphorus

The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought

“…The mining of guano (bird droppings deposited over previous millennia) and phosphate-rich rock had begun (Brink, 1977;Smil, 2000b). Guano was discovered on islands off the Peruvian coast and later on islands in the South Pacific.…”

“…Historical sources of phosphorus for use as fertilizers, including manure, human excreta, guano and phosphate rock (1800-2000) (Reliability of data sources vary, hence data points for human excreta, guano and manure should be interpreted as indicative rather than precise.). Calculations based on data in Brink (1977), Buckingham and Jasinski (2004), IFA (2006) and Smil (2000b). still as young as in the days of Abraham.…”

Peak Phosphorus: Clarifying the Key Issues of a Vigorous Debate about Long-Term Phosphorus Security

“…Phosphorus is rarely found in its elemental form (P), and hence often measured by the phosphate mining and fertilizer industry as phosphorus pentoxide (P 2 O 5 ), which contains 44% P. Phosphate rock is the term for naturally-occurring phosphorus-rich sedimentary or igneous rock, that typically contains around 5-13% P [5,11,12]. Naturally occurring phosphate rock is often upgraded to a rock production containing 11-15% P. This compares to the average phosphorus concentration of the earth's upper crust-approximately 0.1% P [5]. This means that, whilst phosphorus is abundant in the earth's crust (approximately 4 × 10 15 tons of P total), only a small fraction of this (approximately 0.007%) is present in the concentrated form of phosphate rock resources.…”

“…Prior to Liebig's discovery, crop production relied on natural levels of soil phosphorus with the addition of manure, crop residues and in parts of Asia human excreta [4]. After World Water II, phosphorus became one of three (N-P-K) essential nutrient ingredients in commercial fertilizers and was applied extensively worldwide [5]. Fertilizer use increased six-fold between 1950 and 2000 [6].…”

Sustainability in Phosphorus Use: A Question of Water and Food Security

“…4,37 Como resultado da demanda crescente por alimentos, foi observado entre os anos 1950 e 2000 um aumento da ordem de seis vezes no uso de fertilizantes fosfatados estabelecendo-se uma relação de grande dependência da sociedade com relação ao fósforo e estimulando a utilização anual de milhões de toneladas de fertilizantes com o objetivo de suprir uma crescente demanda mundial de alimento, que poderá vir a ser significativamente afetada em função da escassez anunciada. 12,27,28,[38][39][40] Dentro deste cenário o Brasil é o quarto maior consumidor de insumos destinados à fabricação de fertilizantes fosfatados, sendo que o país importa cerca de 80% dos fertilizantes consumidos no mercado local, caracterizando um quadro de grande dependência do mercado externo.…”