3. Global use and consumption of phosphate 21 3.1 Current use of inorganic phosphate Inorganic phosphate is used in many different products and halfproducts. The most recent and complete overview of the global use of inorganic phosphate is given by villalba et al. (2008). According to their study, 18.9 mln tons of phosphorus (P) entered the world economy in 2004. This amounts to 43 mln tons of P2O5, or roughly 143 mln tonnes of phosphate rock (assuming 30 wt% P2O5). After beneficiation, phosphate rock is used for the production of: (1) fertilisers: 74% ; (2) industrial phosphates (e.g. feed additives and detergents): 7%, and (3) other uses: 10%. The remainder (9%) is lost in transportation and handling. The share of inorganic phosphate used as fertilisers, particularly produced through wet phosphoric acid, is by far the largest and will expand further as the global demand for food continues to increase (villalba et al., 2008; Cordell et al., 2009). Table 3.1 lists the major phosphate fertilisers that are derived from the chemical processing of phosphate rock. Industrial phosphates include animal feed additives, pesticides, and red phosphorus which is used for the production of flame retardants, fireworks, semiconductors and matches. Other industrial uses are in the food industry and in household applications, for example: phosphoric acid for pH control in soft drinks; sodium phosphate in the meat and fish industry; sodium pyrophosphate in baking mixes and potato processing; Pagina 30

Pagina 32

Heeft u een magazine, nxtbook of web handleidingen? Gebruik Online Touch: onderwijs catalogus digitaal op uw website plaatsen.

458 Lees publicatie 159Home