Where does phosphate come from?
1 Answer
Most phosphate is locked up in crustal rocks as apatite or fluorapatite and similar minerals.
Explanation:
Phosphate is part of the rock cycle and the phosphorus cycle. Like all elements on Earth phosphorus originally came from a nebulae in space and was incorporated into matter as the planets formed.
Since then, phosphorous gets weathered out of rocks and transported via rivers to oceans where it re-precipites out as appetitive or fluorapatite. Some gets incorporated into life along the way. Phosphorous is key element of life in fact and forms part of our DNA genetic material.
