Throughout history, the fear of (Malthusian) phosphorus (P) scarcity has arisen time and again. If the consumption of mineral phosphorus continues at the current rate, phosphorus will remain extractable for only a few thousand more years, and at ever-increasing costs, at least according to current knowledge. However, such extraction is also somewhat morally critically for evolutionary reasons, because future generations will have little understanding of the consequences of unrestrained consumption. Within the Phosphorus Data and Knowledge Hub (P-DaKH) project of the Danube University for Continuing education Krems, Leopold Weber and colleagues are currently constructing a PhosDataD databank that includes key data on the world’s approximately 1000 phosphorus deposits of the Phosphorus Districts and Provinces. This chapter describes all seven units, or blocks, of PhosDataD. First, because deposits are geosocial entities, Blocks B1–B4 contain information about each deposits ownership, location, and province or district; geological data of ore bodies; and relevant mining-specific information for and sociopolitical economic–ecological constraints on mastering long-term supply security. Next, Blocks B5 and B6 contain data on how the tonnage of phosphate rock and phosphate are increasing as ore grades decline (i.e., Lasky rule) and how the tonnage of economically mineable phosphate rock is growing as prices increase and/or technology improves. Last, Block 7 considers the history of the concept and numbers of phosphorus resources. This chapter may thus be of special interest for researchers conducting studies on mid- and long-term future availability of phosphorus.

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Future Research for Sustainable Phosphorus Supply and Recycling

  • Roland W. Scholz,
  • Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer,
  • Michael Mew,
  • Gerald Steiner

摘要

Throughout history, the fear of (Malthusian) phosphorus (P) scarcity has arisen time and again. If the consumption of mineral phosphorus continues at the current rate, phosphorus will remain extractable for only a few thousand more years, and at ever-increasing costs, at least according to current knowledge. However, such extraction is also somewhat morally critically for evolutionary reasons, because future generations will have little understanding of the consequences of unrestrained consumption. Within the Phosphorus Data and Knowledge Hub (P-DaKH) project of the Danube University for Continuing education Krems, Leopold Weber and colleagues are currently constructing a PhosDataD databank that includes key data on the world’s approximately 1000 phosphorus deposits of the Phosphorus Districts and Provinces. This chapter describes all seven units, or blocks, of PhosDataD. First, because deposits are geosocial entities, Blocks B1–B4 contain information about each deposits ownership, location, and province or district; geological data of ore bodies; and relevant mining-specific information for and sociopolitical economic–ecological constraints on mastering long-term supply security. Next, Blocks B5 and B6 contain data on how the tonnage of phosphate rock and phosphate are increasing as ore grades decline (i.e., Lasky rule) and how the tonnage of economically mineable phosphate rock is growing as prices increase and/or technology improves. Last, Block 7 considers the history of the concept and numbers of phosphorus resources. This chapter may thus be of special interest for researchers conducting studies on mid- and long-term future availability of phosphorus.