Issue 14, 2023

Phosphorus sustainability: a case for phytic acid as a biorenewable platform

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) compounds play a crucial role in modern society; fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides that maintain global crop outputs and many life-saving pharmaceuticals all contain P. Most P-compounds are sourced from phosphate rock (PR) in a highly energy intensive and redox-inefficient manner. Moreover, the ever-expanding human population has hastened consumption of PR deposits and as peak P use approaches, new technologies that enable alternative, biogenic sources of P to effectively supplement PR are imperative to diversify our global P-platform moving forward. Herein, we propose that phytic acid (PA), a source of biogenic P generally considered a low value agricultural waste-product, could serve as a key platform chemical in future biorefineries. PA possesses several attractive features in this regard; it is relatively non-toxic, highly abundant (∼35 million metric tonnes produced annually by agricultural crops) and exists in the P(V) oxidation state that suggests upcycling could be performed in a redox efficient manner. Finally, it is proposed that if PA were to gain traction as a commodity platform, the flow of P in the form of unabsorbed PA excreted by non-ruminant animals into land and waterways could be significantly reduced.

Graphical abstract: Phosphorus sustainability: a case for phytic acid as a biorenewable platform

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
01 may 2023
Accepted
28 iyn 2023
First published
29 iyn 2023

Green Chem., 2023,25, 5390-5403

Phosphorus sustainability: a case for phytic acid as a biorenewable platform

E. K. Davison, J. C. Neville and J. Sperry, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 5390 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC01421E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements