this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2025
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It is one of the least appreciated substances on the planet and its misuse is now threatening to unleash environmental mayhem. Phosphorus is a key component of fertilisers that have become vital in providing food for the world. But at the same time, the spread of these phosphorus compounds – known as phosphates – into rivers, lakes and streams is spreading algal blooms that are killing fish stocks and marine life on a huge scale.

It is a striking mismatch that is now being tackled by a project of remarkable simplicity. The company Rookwood Operations, based in Wells, Somerset, has launched a product that enables phosphates to be extracted from problem areas and then reused on farmland.

This week one of the ­company’s founders, Jane Pearce, will be awarded a £75,000 Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award for her role in setting up the project. “Our product has a straightforward goal – to transfer phosphates from rivers and lakes where they are causing real damage and move them in a simple manner to farmland, where they can be of use in growing crops,” Pearce told the Observer last week.

The key to the intriguing transfer is a substance simply known as Phosphate Removal Material or PRM. Recently developed, it is about to undergo trials with a local water company in Somerset and these will be followed up in a few months with tests with a national company.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

So what is it? Phospate Removal Material doesn't tell me much. Is it activated charcoal? Ground peanut shells? I need to know.

A paper on the topic reports that

Several adsorbents have been used for phosphate removal from water. They include; aluminium-modified biochar (Yin et al. 2018), aluminium-doped magnetic nanoparticles (Xu et al. 2017), laterite soils, and black cotton soil (Reddy et al. 2020).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

This is really good idea, not only does it clean the rivers from phosphates, its self implementing since farmers would have incentive to use it without any external influencing.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting 36 points 1 day ago

Science grants like this are such a cornerstone of human progress. Great stuff

[–] A_A 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"Women in Innovation Award" is a first good step. But she also deserves the "People of any Genders Innovation Award" 😁 !

[–] [email protected] -5 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

This is like Black Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter all over again

[–] A_A 9 points 23 hours ago

i was trying to say she should get Nobel Prize or something like this and i was trying to be funny. Sorry if it came across as disconnected.

[–] aleq 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Was dying to see some good news, finally.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I hope this is not like swallowing a spider to catch a fly.