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Why Researchers Are Mapping the World's Manure
https://www.stevens.edu/news/why-researchers-are-mapping-worlds-manure17 Apr 2019
Why Researchers Are Mapping the World’s Manure
As phosphorus supply and demand shift, Stevens Institute of Technology is leading the hunt for solutions to recapture this vital nutrient and sustain global agricultural production
(Hoboken, N.J. – April 17, 2019) – Farmers rely on phosphorus fertilizers to enrich the soil and ensure bountiful harvests, but the world’s recoverable reserves of phosphate rocks, from which such fertilizers are produced, are finite and unevenly distributed. Stevens Institute of Technology is spearheading an international effort to map the global flow of phosphorus, much of which will be absorbed by crops, then eaten and excreted as waste by animals and people – and jump-start efforts to recapture and recycle the vital nutrient.
In the April 2019 issue of Earth’s Future, David Vaccari, director of the Stevens department of civil, environmental and ocean engineering, and his team map that process globally for the first time, and identify regional “hot spots” where there’s both significant demand for fertilizers, and significant potential for recapturing phosphorus from animal and human waste.
The team not only shows there are significant untapped opportunities for recycling phosphorus but in a field where lack of well-integrated data has often impeded both local and regional plannning, the work is a breakthrough in bridging the global to the local, actionable level.
“If we want to get serious about phosphorus recycling, these are the places where we’re going to get the most bang for our buck,” said Vaccari.
…
https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001097Why Researchers Are Mapping the World’s Manure
As phosphorus supply and demand shift, Stevens Institute of Technology is leading the hunt for solutions to recapture this vital nutrient and sustain global agricultural production
(Hoboken, N.J. – April 17, 2019) – Farmers rely on phosphorus fertilizers to enrich the soil and ensure bountiful harvests, but the world’s recoverable reserves of phosphate rocks, from which such fertilizers are produced, are finite and unevenly distributed. Stevens Institute of Technology is spearheading an international effort to map the global flow of phosphorus, much of which will be absorbed by crops, then eaten and excreted as waste by animals and people – and jump-start efforts to recapture and recycle the vital nutrient.
In the April 2019 issue of Earth’s Future, David Vaccari, director of the Stevens department of civil, environmental and ocean engineering, and his team map that process globally for the first time, and identify regional “hot spots” where there’s both significant demand for fertilizers, and significant potential for recapturing phosphorus from animal and human waste.
The team not only shows there are significant untapped opportunities for recycling phosphorus but in a field where lack of well-integrated data has often impeded both local and regional plannning, the work is a breakthrough in bridging the global to the local, actionable level.
“If we want to get serious about phosphorus recycling, these are the places where we’re going to get the most bang for our buck,” said Vaccari.
…