Phosphorus Fertilizer: The Original and Commercial Sources

Earlier the original source of phosphorus (P) fertilizer was bones; as time passes, the supply of P fertilizer will get exhausted. Today, rock phosphate is the only raw material in the form of P fertilizers. There are two types of rock phosphates: igneous and sedimentary; both have the same phosphate mineral, i.e., calcium phosphate of apatite group. The general formula for pure rock phosphate is Ca10(PO4)6(X)2, where X is F−, OH− or Cl−. These minerals are called apatites. The most common rock phosphate mined is fluorapatite, which contains impurities like CO3, Na and Mg. Carbonate-fluorapatite (francolite) is primary apatite mineral in the majority of phosphate rocks. The high reactivity of some phosphate rocks is due to the occurrence of francolite. The major deposits are found in the US followed by China, Morocco and Russia. The US produced about 33% of the world’s rock phosphate, although nearly 50% of the world reserves are in Morocco. P fertilizers are produced from either acid-treated or heat-treated rock phosphate to break the apatite bond and to increase the water soluble P content. There are many commercially available P fertilizers like rock phosphate, phosphoric acid, calcium orthophosphates, ammonium phosphates, ammonium polyphosphate and nitric phosphates.