Phosphorus sources that are used for large scale commercial isolation purposes come from minerals which contain phosphate rock. Most of these phosphate rocks are composed of a tri-calcium phosphate mineral called apatite; this mineral does not contain pure phosphate, but it provides a ready supply for isolation. The main chemical process that is used to isolate phosphorus from phosphorus minerals uses high amounts of energy; the high amounts of energy make this process inefficient for small scale laboratory isolations.
In the phosphorus isolation process, phosphorus minerals are heated with carbon and sand in an electric furnace. The calcium and phosphorus from the minerals, silicon from the sand, and carbon are reacted in the furnace at a temperature of 2732 °F. The resulting chemicals from the reaction are carbon dioxide, phosphorus, and calcium silicon oxygen compound. Pure phosphorus, depending on the allotrope that is isolated, can be toxic and highly explosive.
