Phosphorite

Phosphorite is a raw resource used primarily as an agricultural input and crafting component. It appears as a mineable phosphate ore and as an excrement product from certain critters; it can be processed into Fertilizer, fed to several domesticated plants and critters, and combined with plant materials to produce Medical Packs.

Phosphorite is produced biologically by Dreckos and Glossy Dreckos: Dreckos excrete 10 kg of Phosphorite per cycle, while Glossy Dreckos excrete 9 kg per cycle. Phosphorite functions as a direct food source for several critter types — Shine Bugs, Sun Bugs, Royal Bugs, Coral Bugs and Azure Bugs — and can be used as bait in Airborne Critter Bait to attract those critters.

The primary industrial use of Phosphorite is in the Fertilizer Synthesizer. The synthesizer recipe consumes Polluted Water, Dirt and Phosphorite to produce Fertilizer and Natural Gas at the following rates: 39 g/s Polluted Water + 65 g/s Dirt + 26 g/s Phosphorite → 120 g/s Fertilizer + 10 g/s Natural Gas. This makes Phosphorite an important input for large-scale fertilizer production.

Phosphorite is also consumed directly by domestically grown plants:

• Pincha Pepperplant consumes 1 kg per cycle when grown domestically.
• Wheezewort requires 4 kg per cycle for domestic growth.

Phosphorite combines with Balm Lily to produce Medical Packs at the Apothecary when a duplicant has the Medicine Compounding skill. The recipe is 1 kg Balm Lily Flower + 1 kg Phosphorite → 1 unit Medical Pack, and Medical Packs are used to cure Slimelung.

Phosphorite has useful thermal phase behavior that can be exploited for base decoration and construction. Liquid phosphorus has a relatively high freezing point of 44.15 °C, allowing players to melt Phosphorite into liquid form and drip or place it to create “natural” phosphorus tiles — a technique often used for Parks, Nature Reserves, or habitats for Pips. The material also undergoes a higher-temperature phase change around 246.85 °C.

Practical notes and usage tips:

• Use Drecko herding to generate steady Phosphorite supply; Glossy Dreckos yield slightly less per cycle than plain Dreckos.
• When planning fertilizer production, budget 26 g/s Phosphorite per Fertilizer Synthesizer running at full throughput.
• Keep storage and transport of liquid phosphorus within temperature ranges that avoid unwanted freezing or boiling; the liquid form is useful for landscaping but will solidify below ~44.15 °C.
• Use Phosphorite as bait in Airborne Critter Bait to attract Shine Bugs and their variants.
• Reserve quantities of Phosphorite for medical compounding if you intend to craft Medical Packs to treat Slimelung.