White phosphorus production by a carbothermic reduction of upcycled crude phosphoric acid

White phosphorous is a critically important material in manufacturing semiconductors and advanced pharmaceuticals. However, white phosphorus is produced by only four countries using the huge energy-consuming electric arc furnace process. These four countries have resorted to banning or restricting their exports causing a supply risk for white phosphorus for many industrialized countries.

To meet the white phosphorous supply risk, the never-existing white phosphorous production process has been developed by applying the carbothermic reduction of P₂O₅ gas provided by the thermal decomposition of phosphoric acid. The novel process can produce semiconductor-grade high-purity white phosphorous from crude phosphoric acid recovered from secondary phosphorous resources.

By supplying phosphoric acid in the form of small droplets, we have achieved continuous operation of white phosphorus production, which was previously impossible, and brings production efficiency to an industrial level. This process could significantly reduce the supply risk for countries that rely entirely on imported white phosphorus.