'Element of life' is about to run out: Is the world on the brink of crisis?

According to The Guardian, scientists are warning that the world is facing a "potential crisis" in the production of phosphate fertilizers, a key fertilizer that is fundamental to supply. the world's food supply.

What is phosphorus?

Phosphorus is one of the six chemical elements that make up all plants and animals. The backbone of DNA and RNA, cell membranes, bones and teeth all require phosphorus.

Unlike other essential elements for life - including oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and sulfur - inorganic phosphorus cannot be found in its elemental form in nature, it exists in minerals that do not exist. dissolve. Therefore, plants and animals can only obtain phosphorus through other organisms, dead tissues or their waste products.

Phosphorus exists in three basic allotropes: white, red, and black. Other allotropes may also exist. The most common forms are white phosphorus and red phosphorus.

Inorganic phosphorus cannot be found in its pure form in nature.

The average human body contains 1 kg of phosphorus, enough to produce hundreds of matches. Phosphorus is unevenly distributed in the body, most concentrated in bones, about 100g in muscles and nearly 10g in nerve tissue.

Phosphorus is added by farmers in very large quantities to ensure a bountiful crop. But phosphate mines are a finite resource.

Not to mention, the largest supply is located in places of political instability, posing risks for many countries with little or no phosphorus reserves.

Changing the history of world agriculture

Phosphorus is a factor that has caused the world's population to increase rapidly over the past two centuries. According to Sputnik, in the 1840s, British geologists discovered phosphorus-rich coffee-colored round stones in sedimentary rocks near Cambridge.

Over the next few decades, more than 2 million tons of phosphate rock were mined. The fields and marshes of the south-east of England became the site of a multitude of pits and tunnels. The ore stones are sorted, washed and transported to special plants for crushing and acid treatment. The product of this process is Superphosphate - the world's first chemical fertilizer.

Phosphate ore has revolutionized global agriculture. For the first time in history, humans were able to produce food almost all over the planet, where there was water for irrigation. Since that time, Earth's population has increased rapidly, and humanity has gradually become heavily dependent on fertilizers.

Phosphorus exists in three basic allotropes: white, red, and black. (Photo: Sputnik)

And hundreds of geologists continue to search for "fertile rock" deposits around the world.

Huge deposits of phosphate ore have been found in the American West, China, the Middle East, in Europe, Africa and Australia, as well as on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. This became extremely important in the 20th century, during the Green Revolution, when hybrid high yielding crops became widely available.

Phosphorus is gradually depleted

Phosphate fertilizer use has quadrupled in the past 50 years as the global population grows and the day of depletion of this material draws closer as new analysis of human needs becomes available. Some scientists predict that time could come as early as a few decades.

Humans could only produce half as much food without phosphate and nitrogen, the researchers say, even though nitrogen is essentially limitless because it makes up nearly 80 percent of the atmosphere.

"Supplying of phosphates can be a huge problem," said Martin Blackwell, an expert at Rothamsted Research, an agricultural research center in the UK, and lead author of a new study. increase and we'll need more food."

The world has 70 billion tons of phosphate, of which the 5 largest reserves have occupied 60 billion tons. Morocco and Western Sahara are far ahead of the rest by 50 billion tons. Graphics: The Guardian

At the current rate of use, many countries will run out of domestic supply in the next generation, including the US, China and India. Morocco and the Moroccan-occupied territory in Western Sahara have the largest reserves, followed by China, Algeria and Syria.

Mr. Blackwell said: "Over the next few years, this could be a political issue as some countries can control world food production by tightening supplies of phosphate rock. aware of this problem. This is one of the most important problems in the world today."

Possible solutions include recycling fertilizers from human wastewater, manure and slaughterhouse waste, new plant varieties that can more effectively draw minerals from the soil, and better soil quality testing for non-fertilizers. Too much manure is wasted.

Excessive use of phosphate fertilizers not only depletes supplies but also causes widespread pollution leading to dead zones in rivers and seas. In 2015, research published in the journal Science cited phosphorus pollution as one of the most serious problems facing the planet, more than climate change.

"The continued use of phosphate fertilizers as the foundation for global food production poses the risk of a crisis," the new study, published in the journal Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, assesses.

The study notes that it is estimated that the supply of phosphate rock has fallen from 300 to 259 in the last 3 years alone, due to increased demand. "If supply continues to decline at this rate, it cannot be ruled out that all supply will be exhausted by 2040," the scientists wrote.

A real "phosphorus disaster" broke out in 2008, when amid the global economic crisis and rumors about the depletion of raw materials, the price of phosphates increased by 800%.

Historically, phosphate fertilizers have always been cheaper than potash or nitrogen fertilizers, which require natural gas to produce. As a result, low- and middle-income countries are increasingly dependent on imported phosphate fertilizers. As phosphates have become expensive, many countries in Africa and Southeast Asia face severe hunger in the 21st century.

The situation has worsened in recent months. Supply chain disruptions, export bans and sanctions against Russia have quadrupled global phosphate prices.

Find an alternative source

A change in the global use and recycling of phosphorus will be essential. In particular, China, India and the US - the three countries with the largest populations on the planet - will need to pay attention.

The European Commission declared phosphate a "critical raw material" in 2014, i.e. an essential resource with significant risk to supply. Only Finland has reserves of phosphate rock in the EU, while most other member states in the bloc must import this material from Morocco, Algeria, Russia, Israel and Jordan. "The EU is highly dependent on regions currently in political crisis," according to the EC report.

A change in the global use and recycling of phosphorus will be essential.

Commercial phosphate fertilizers were invented at Rothamsted in 1842 by dissolving animal bones in sulfuric acid. Blackwell and his colleagues went back to studying this source to create an alternative source of phosphate.

They synthesized bones, horns, blood and other abattoir wastes into phosphate fertilizers, and a new study shows the compound works as well or better than conventional fertilizers. Mr Blackwell said it could supply 15-25 per cent of the UK's needs. Another potential source is phosphate extraction from human wastewater.

Recycling phosphates from animal and human waste is important, but this will take time as new technology and regulations will be needed to ensure no environmental pollution and damage to food products.

Blackwell says reducing phosphate use is also key. Phosphate expert Marissa de Boer says the lack of public awareness means that the problem of the environmental crisis is not widely known: "We really depend on phosphates but we consider it using it is obvious".