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Phosphate to Food

Supply chain

Phosphate to Food

A finite rock, a chemical plant, and the yield of every field on Earth.

FERTILIZER PLANT NEAR EL CENTRO - NARA - 548851 · Charles O'Rear · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The short version

Phosphorus has no substitute in agriculture and no synthetic route. Every atom of it in the food supply was mined. The same purified acid now also feeds LFP battery production.

The narrowest link. Reserves are extremely concentrated geographically, and sulfuric acid supply — itself a fossil-fuel by-product — is required to process them.

DepositSedimentary phosphorite Phosphate Rock MineKhouribga and the Moroccan basins Khouribga ProcessingPhosphoric acid Sulfur RefiningFertiliser or purified acid Agriculture & Food ComponentLFP cathode or applied fertiliser LFP Lithium-Ion Battery End marketCrops, and batteries Agriculture & Food

Stage by stage

01Deposit

Sedimentary phosphorite

Phosphate accumulated on ancient continental shelves where cold, nutrient-rich water upwelled.

Phosphate Rock →

Phosphate Rock — Apatite Sapo Mine Minéraux SU · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

02Mine

Khouribga and the Moroccan basins

Shallow beds are stripped, washed and beneficiated.

Khouribga — Diente de Mosasaurus, Khouribga, Marruecos, 2… · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

03Processing

Phosphoric acid

Rock is attacked with sulfuric acid, producing phosphoric acid and phosphogypsum waste.

Note: About five tonnes of phosphogypsum per tonne of acid.

Sulfur — Union Sulphur Co Reserve Sulphur Storage in L… · Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

04Refining

Fertiliser or purified acid

Acid becomes DAP and MAP fertiliser, or is purified further for food and battery grades.

Agriculture & Food →

Agriculture & Food — An Indian farmer spreading fertilizer over a crop · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

05Component

LFP cathode or applied fertiliser

LFP Lithium-Ion Battery →

LFP Lithium-Ion Battery — Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePO4 Cells 700Ah in… · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

06End market

Crops, and batteries

Agriculture & Food →