[Munqi]

Is it a problem?

Do we have a substitute for it?

Are we able to recycle phosphorus effectively? Are there any problems about this we should be aware of?

[Ludi]

It's really only a problem for large-scale monoculture (like what we depend on now). There are ways to grow food which recycle phosphorus from deep soils with special plants which concentrate this element.

We wasted a lot of phosphorus by washing it into the ocean.

[Munqi]

What about its effect on the biofuel industry?

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Munqi', 'W')hat about its effect on the biofuel industry?

[kpeavey]

the biofuel industry would increase demand for phosphorus fertilizer. Corn in particular takes large amount of inputs: fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation.

[Ivan_M]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Munqi', 'W')hat about its effect on the biofuel industry?

[TheDude]

Bob Shaw - totoneila at The Oil Drum - posts on NPK most every day. Check out his posts for more than you ever wanted to know about fertilizer. Great stuff!

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')otoneila on July 20, 2008 - 9:06pm
Hello TODers,

As usual, Morocco again is in the news.

Recall my prior postings on Morocco, including the weblink of KSA giving $500 million earlier to this country. Now this:

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=22688& ... &mset=1011
---------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL. UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has donated US $300 million to upcoming Moroccan Energy Fund to ease the effects of soaring energy prices on Morocco, according to Moroccan Energy Minister HE Amina Benkhadra.
-----------------------------------------

Perhaps the remaining energy exporters [who are also huge food importers] are increasingly realizing that potential postPeak control of I-NPK can be used to guarantee their future food supplies. Are they potentially moving to Haber-Bosch N-control by native natgas application, sulfur-control from sour crude & natgas, then these donations to Morocco to secure [P]hosphate flowrate?

Recall from the UN FAO NPK Outlook [57-page PDF Warning] that North America is forecast to move into phosphate deficit:

ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/cwfto11.pdf
-----------------------------------
Current world fertilizer trends and outlook to 2011/12

Page 11: "It is expected that America will continue to be a net importer of nitrogen and that the region will move into increasing phosphate deficit during the outlook period while remaining a primary supplier of potash."
-----------------------------------
Maybe North America donating cash to Morocco, like these countries, would be a wiser strategy than selling them JDAM munitions and F-16s.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

[Tanada]

When Phosphate rock is processed to make fertilizer the byproduct is Calcium Sulfate aka Gypsum. Because Uranium has the same chemical properties as Phosphorus in some of its valance states Phosphate rocks sometimes accumulate Uranium in addition to the Phosphorus. When Uranium prices are high the Uranium is separated into its own stream and sold to the nuclear fuel industry, when prices are low it is left in solution and ends up in the Gypsum as a minor ingredient.

When fertilizer manufacturers have pure Calcium Sulfate they sell it to wall board manufacturers who make it into 'dry wall' aka Gypsum Board for construction. When the Calcium Sulfate has Uranium mixed in most regulators will not allow this so the gypsum pile just grows mountain like because it is not saleable. This had lead to a sink hole in Florida at one of the largest phosphate plants in the USA. Rainwater leaching through Calcium Sulfate picks up Sulfur ions and becomes mild Sulfuric Acid H2SO4. Because most of Florida is underlain with porous limestone the leaching acid has eaten a very large sinkhole at the plant in Florida. Because of the very insignificant quantity of Uranium in the Gypsum piles the media is hyping the story as spreading dangerous radioactive contaminated water.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') massive sinkhole that opened underneath a gypsum stack at a Mosaic phosphate fertilizer plant in Mulberry may have dumped at least 215 million gallons of contaminated water into the Floridan Aquifer over the past three weeks, company officials say.

And it could be months before the hole is plugged, the officials acknowledge.

The 45-foot-wide sinkhole opened at the New Wales plant, where phosphate rock mined elsewhere is converted into fertilizer.

It drained millions of gallons of acidic water laced with sulfate and sodium from a pool atop a 120-foot gypsum stack. An unknown amount of gypsum, a fertilizer byproduct with low levels of radiation, also fell into the sinkhole, which is believed be at least 300 feet deep.

The pond is now drained, but aerial video taken Friday shows polluted water is still seeping from the gypsum stack and plunging like a waterfall into the sinkhole. More contaminated water will leak with every new rainfall until the sinkhole is filled. The acidic level of the water is roughly equivalent to vinegar or lemon juice.

Mosaic workers became aware of the leak when water levels in the pond dropped 2 feet between readings on Aug. 27. They began diverting water from the pond, which can hold up to about 250 million gallons.

Wells were used to monitor groundwater around the sinkhole. No off-site contamination has been detected, Mosaic officials said.

The company notified the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Polk County about the leak.

But neither Mosaic nor DEP officials notified the public about the spill.

David Jellerson, senior director of environment and phosphate projects, said Mosaic decided there was no need to alert neighbors — many of whom use well water — because testing has shown that the contamination has not spread from the 1,600-acre site.

The DEP was notified Aug. 28, spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said. Staffers were on site the next day and are making frequent visits to monitor cleanup efforts.

"The department's focus at this time is on the oversight of Mosaic's first-response efforts in order to safeguard public health and the environment," Miller said in an email.

Mosaic has agreed to pay for the testing of well water at surrounding properties and has received 14 requests so far. Testing will be conducted by a contractor hired by Mosaic and is expected to start next week.

To tackle the contamination in the aquifer, Mosaic is using a recovery well that pumps 3,500 gallons of water per minute from the aquifer back to the surface, where it will be reused for phosphate processing.

"We're confident the recovery well is effectively collecting the contaminants," Jellerson said.

[Synapsid]

Tanada,

Many of the site's neighbors use well water. Does this make sense to you?

I'd do my best to avoid using well water anywhere in Florida.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Synapsid', 'T')anada,

Many of the site's neighbors use well water. Does this make sense to you?

I'd do my best to avoid using well water anywhere in Florida.

[Synapsid]

Tanada,

Why would I avoid well water in Florida? It's the "porous limestone" bit. There's enough agriculture alone in Florida to make me nervous about well water.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GASMON', 'U')K is OK

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... rough.html

Gas