America is Sitting on 1.7 Billion Tons of Potential. Imagine Putting it To Work.
Explore the PG Use Opportunity
Just The Facts
We Need Food.
Food Needs Phosphate Fertilizers.
Phosphate Fertilizer Creates Phosphogypsum.
American crops feed our families and help feed the world. Crops depend on phosphate fertilizers, which are the essential nutrients that grow our food. There is no substitute for phosphate, and not using it for crops is not an option. No phosphate means less food at higher costs.
When phosphate fertilizer is made, it creates a useful and abundant byproduct called phosphogypsum, or “PG.” Each year in the United States, more than 28 million tons of PG are produced and stored in “gypstacks.” Gypstacks are a well-regulated storage option, but continually building more and bigger gypstacks is not a sustainable solution for the future. Fortunately, advances in technology and science now point to PG use as a smarter alternative to storage.
America has an opportunity to use PG to achieve some of its biggest national priorities: building our infrastructure, supporting American innovation, combating climate change, and lessening our environmental impact. All of these benefits, and all while ensuring the U.S. can continue to produce its own phosphate fertilizer and smartly manage PG instead of limiting production and relying on foreign sources for the phosphate fertilizer that is essential to America’s agricultural independence.
Going from Byproduct to Byways
Imagine going from byproduct to byways by using PG for the safe, strong, more cost effective road base we need to meet our infrastructure demands. Roads constructed with PG are the same quality as traditional roads with the added benefit of using repurposed materials instead of new materials extracted from the environment. Each year, more than 28 million tons of PG are produced in the U.S. and require storage. As much as 2 million tons could instead be put to work in just the state of Florida to help build and repair infrastructure, roads and bridges.
Did You Know:
Globally, more than 20 countries are already using PG in road base and other applications.
How PG Use Supports Critical Technologies
Tapping a New Source to Power Critical Technologies
Imagine extracting from a natural byproduct the rare earth elements (REE) we need for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, critical defense technologies, and even our smartphones. The sheer abundance of PG—and the presence of REE within it—would provide an important domestic source of REE and lessen reliance on China, which controls more than 80% of the world’s REE production.
Did You Know:
Every year, about 100,000 tons of rare earth elements are wasted in phosphogypsum—nearly as much as the total amount of rare earth oxides produced worldwide each year.
How PG Use Helps the Environment
Combatting Climate Change and Lessening Our Environmental Impact
Imagine combating climate change by using PG to grow tree plantations that capture carbon dioxide and improving the soil to get more from our croplands. The result: higher crop yields, more efficient water usage, and more resilience to climate change.
Imagine lessening our environmental impact by reducing the need to expand gypstacks and build new ones—a priority for residential communities near production facilities, a number of which may disproportionately bear burdens associated with environmental justice concerns.
Did You Know:
In total, more than 35 million tons of PG are used every year by more than 20 countries around the world – in fact, multiple countries are already using 100% of their PG.
More Facts about PG
Q & A
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Innovation that Moves PG Forward
Moves America Forward.
For more information, visit phosphateinnovation.com.