Founded by Henning Brand in 1669, rock phosphate has a wide variety of uses owing to its high phosphorous content. Phosphorous is an important part of the RNA and DNA molecules, of which life is formed. It is essential for the development of bones and teeth as well.
The deposits of rock phosphate encompasses large regions of of rocks and, ocean and sea beds, across South Africa, Russia, Canada, and on sea mounts in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. While most of these deposits are presently untouched because of the high costs of recovering and processing, Morocco and USA are mostly supplying for the rock phosphates global demand.
ROCK PHOSPHATE USES
Some of the rock phosphate is processed to extract the elemental phosphorous, which serves as an important feed stock for the chemical industry. However, the most significant application of rock phosphate is in the fertilizers for the agricultural industry. The phosphate rocks used in agricultural applications typically comprise of phosphorous pentoxide (P2O5) in 30% concentration, calcium carbonate in 5% concentration, and 4% or less of aluminum and iron oxides.
Besides, fertilizers and chemicals, the other areas where rock phosphate is applied, include:
1. Metallurgy
2. Water treatment
3. Fungicides
4. Cosmetics
5. Anti-corrosion agents
6. Food preservatives
7. Animal feed supplements
The significance of phosphorous for the existence of life and life forms cannot be underrated. And, rock phosphates play a huge role in satiating the phosphorous needs of the world. In fact, in most applications, there is no substitute for rock phosphate.
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