Fuente: Acs. Chemestry for life Lugar: Webinars Webinar RECORDING
Originally Aired: November 12, 2025
Presenters:

Dr. Lawrence M. Principe, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Department of History of Science and Technology, Johns Hopkins University and Winner of the 2020 ACS HIST award and
Jim Jenkins, PhD, Sustainability Futures Leadership

Moderator: Gary D. Patterson, PhD. American Chemical Society HIST Division
Webinar Recap:
This final webinar of 2025, co-presented with the ACS History of Chemistry (HIST) Division, provided a high-stakes look at Phosphorus (P). The session, featuring Dr. Lawrence M. Principe and Jim Jenkins, PhD, demonstrated that this elusive element has a “wild past and a wild future”
Key Discussion Points:


Cultural History: The story of Phosphorus’ discovery, how its preparation was an alchemical secret, and the role of early chemists.


The Resource Crisis: Discussion of the challenges posed by significant reserves of lower-quality rock that are not currently viable and the necessity of chemical engineering to address resource issues.


Sustainable Innovation: An overview of three key paths to sustainability:


Waste to Resource: Reframing massive phosgypsum waste stacks (5 tons per 1 ton of acid ) into a potential secondary raw material business.


Resource Recovery: Extracting slow-release fertilizer, Struvite, from municipal wastewater to improve water quality and nutrient management.


Efficiency: New products, such as Phosfor LLC’s “chemical plant in a granule” , are protecting phosphate ions in the soil to achieve a 50% increase in phosphorus uptake efficiency.




The central message remains clear: the path to a sustainable future involves recognizing that organisms—humans, plants, and animals—now function as the “new phosphate reserves”.
If you missed the live event or want to watch it again, you can find the full video below.
[Link to YouTube Video Here]
A special thank you to our moderator, Gary Patterson, our tech host, Kyle Sawyer, and our sponsor, Eurofins Agroscience Services.
We hope to see you at our next webinar!
For past webinar recordings, please visit the Lunch and Learn Webinar Archive.
The post WEBINAR RECORDING: From the Bone-Yard to the Boardroom: The Cultural History and Sustainable Future of Phosphorus appeared first on AGRO.