The European phosphorus balance

Phosphorus (P) is considered a potentially critical resource because reserves are limited; it is required by all creatures, and it cannot be substituted. In this paper a substance flow analysis of phosphorus for the former 15 member states of the European Community (EU15) is presented. In order to consider the heterogeneity of the database with regard to quantity and quality all data are considered with uncertainty ranges. Error propagation and data reconciliation are performed applying the software STAN. Comparing basic and reconciled data shows that the result is reliable enough to allow the following conclusions: the system of the EU15 is largely dependent on imports of phosphorus. Net per capita consumption in the EU15 is 4.7 kgP/yr of which only 1.2 kgP/yr reach the consumer. The main losses are a net accumulation in agricultural soils (2.9 kgP/yr), followed by losses to landfills (1.4 kgP/yr) and to the hydrosphere (0.55 kgP/yr). Only 0.77 kgP/yr are recycled. Optimizing phosphorus fertilization, collecting and recycling of phosphorus-rich wastes, increasing the connection of households to sewer systems, and implementing tertiary wastewater treatment comprehensively could reduce Europe's import dependence on phosphorus significantly.

► The first European balance on phosphorus considering data uncertainty.
► Documentation of the inefficient use of phosphorus in Europe.
► Identification of optimization measures and research needs.