A crisis that no one expects: what will result in phosphorus deficiency for civilization

While the whole world is discussing the inevitable shortage of hydrocarbon fuels in the future and the lack of fresh water, civilization is slowly approaching another raw material crisis, about which so far little is known. This is a shortage of fossil phosphorus reserves, which in the foreseeable future will seriously affect all of human civilization. But what role does phosphorus play in the modern economy, and why is this element so important to us?

It's no secret that modern agriculture, or rather the crop sector, is impossible without the use of a number of chemicals. These are all kinds of drugs for combating harmful insects and diseases, means for eliminating weed species of plants and, of course, fertilizers, without which there will be no high yield that can ensure the profitability of the industry and feed all those in need. It is precisely in the field of fertilizers for agricultural production that phosphorus is needed, and more precisely, all kinds of minerals with the participation of this element.

Phosphorus is an integral part of many organic vital elements. It is found in all plants and animals, in particular, the existence of DNA is impossible without it. It is vital for the growth of crops, and for this reason its amount in the soil is gradually decreasing. In order to fill the deficit of this element and increase productivity, farmers carry fertilizers to their fields that contain much-needed phosphorus. This is primarily simple superphosphate, double superphosphate, phosphate rock and ammophos. All these substances have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of crops, enhance the immunity of plants, accelerate growth and increase productivity.

According to statistics, over the past half century in the world, the number of phosphorus-based mineral fertilizers produced has increased 5 times. The main countries using these fertilizers are China and India, which account for almost half of the global consumption of phosphates. The main problem, according to experts, is that phosphorus minerals are not common, and there are not many places on our planet where they can be mined on an industrial scale. The phosphate reserves are depleted, and, according to the most pessimistic forecasts, human civilization will remain without phosphorus by the end of this century. The raw materials for the production of phosphate fertilizers are apatites and phosphorites. The main countries and regions where these minerals are mined and fertilizer produced are today Morocco, China, Western Sahara, the USA and Russia. With regard to industrial stocks of raw materials, their largest number is concentrated in Morocco.

Specialists dealing with the problem of depletion of phosphorus resources see only one way out of this situation. Humanity must change the entire phosphorus consumption chain, otherwise the world will soon expect a global crisis in agricultural production. It is necessary to organize a more rational process for the use of phosphates in order to minimize their further leakage together with wastewater and their release into the waters of the World Ocean. The pollution of the waters of the seas with phosphorus compounds is the flip side of the problem of the exhaustion of phosphorus, which directly indicates its extremely irrational use in agriculture. Whether we want it or not, in the coming years, world civilization will have to look for a way out of the phosphorus crisis, since its lack will greatly complicate the lives of subsequent inhabitants of the Earth, who become more and more every year.

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