a bit about my project here and the phosphate crisis

We constantly hear about the depleting supplies of petroleum, natural gas, coal, etc., but there are other important resources that are running out, one of which is phosphorus. And unlike hydrocarbons, which can be replaced by other sources of energy, phosphorus cannot be produced or replaced.

So, why phosphorus? And who cares? This is an element that is essential for all life and is a key component in fertilizers to help increase crop yields. Since the world´s population is increasing, and the amount of farmland is decreasing, fertilizers are important in increasing crop yields. There are also environmental, economic, and political issues that are associated with this: Phosphate mining is incredibly energy intensive and fertilizer runoff can ruin aquatic ecosystem, the depletion of phosphate reserves are causing higher fertilizer prices, and only 4 countries in the world control 80% of reserves.

How do we fix this? By closing the ´loop´ of the phosphorus cycle. Currently phosphate is mined, processed, combined with other chemicals to produce fertilizer, taken up by plants, eaten by humans and livestock, and sent to sewage treatment plants. From there, phosphorus ends up in wastewater effluent (which gets sent to various water bodies) and sludge (which may be buried in landfills). In either case, the phosphate is lost forever.

As we realize that phosphate reserves will soon run out, we are looking at various ways to recover the nutrients. From the internet research I´ve done so far, it really seems like EU countries like Sweden and Germany are making a greater effort for phosphate recovery from sewage. On top of this (or probably because of this), there is a lot of research conducted on the subject in the EU as well.

Another interesting thing I realized was the importance of fertilizers. I feel like fertilizers get a bad rap in the U.S. because they are associated with environmental damage, yet there would be no way to feed the world without them. I think this photo made me realize (the wilted, nutrient deficient plant just looks so sad!):

Sooo after that long post, you must be wondering exactly what all this has to do with my project here in Germany. I am working on a phosphate recovery process that produces struvite, a mineral that precipitates and that can be used directly in fertilizer. The ph.d student I´m working with gave me the talk about not disclosing anything specific because of patent reasons, so that´s pretty much all I can say.