User talk:Phosphate3

=== Phosphates are naturally present in all soils at varying levels. Anthropogenically derived phosphates have their sources in a wide range of organic materials with the result that in occupation areas, burials, food-processing areas, latrine areas and animal compounds and droveways the phosphate levels in the soil can be considerably enhanced.

Once in the soil, phosphate is generally fixed in an insoluble form to inorganic aluminium, calcium, and iron components, or associates with organic molecules to form insoluble complexes. Fixed in this way it can survive for long periods. In archaeology, identifying concentrations of phosphates through phosphate analysis is extremely useful for the recognition and definition of settlement sites, and mapping the different levels of activity within a site. Phosphates can also be used to identify the presence of burials in ground where all physical traces have vanished.

Phosphates
Phosphates are used for a variety of reasons. Tricalcium phosphate and disodium phosphate are used as anti-caking agents. Both sodium hexa meta phosphate and tetrasodium pyrophosphate are good at tying up proteins to shield them against acid denaturization (also known as granulation). No living organism is capable of synthesizing the phosphate ion; therefore, it must be absorbed through the food supply1. Any of numerous chemical compounds related to phosphoric acid (H3PO4). Phosphate salts are inorganic compounds containing the phosphate ion (PO43-), the hydrogen phosphate ion (HPO42-), or the dihydrogen phosphate ion (H2PO4-), along with any cation. Phosphate esters are organic compounds in which the hydrogens of phosphoric acid are replaced by organic groups (e.g., methyl, ethyl, phenyl), with one of their carbon atoms bonding to an oxygen atom in the phosphate group. Nucleic acids and ATP both contain phosphate; bones and teeth contain calcium phosphate. Phosphate rock (mainly calcium phosphate) is one of the four most important basic chemical commodities. Phosphates were formerly used in detergents, which washed into rivers and lakes, causing water blooms of algae and bacteria (see eutrophication); such use is now generally outlawed or regulated. Phosphates are still used in fertilizers, baking powder, and toothpaste.

about phosphate
phosphate, salt or ester of phosphoric acid, H3PO4. Because phosphoric acid is tribasic (having three replaceable hydrogen atoms), it forms monophosphate, diphosphate, and triphosphate salts in which one, two, or three of the hydrogens of the acid are replaced, respectively. Because replaceable hydrogens remain in monophosphates and diphosphates, they are sometimes called acid phosphates. The most important inorganic phosphate is calcium phosphate, Ca3(PO4)2. It makes up the larger part of phosphate rock, a mineral that is abundantly distributed throughout the world. Since calcium phosphate is only slightly soluble in water, it is not very suitable as a source of the phosphorus necessary for plant life; however, by treating it with sulfuric acid the soluble calcium acid phosphate known as superphosphate of lime is formed. Other important inorganic phosphates include ammonium phosphate, important as a fertilizer; trisodium phosphate, used in detergents and for softening water; and disodium phosphate, used to some extent in medicine and in preparing baking powders. Various acid phosphates, e.g., those of calcium, magnesium, and sodium, are sometimes present in carbonated beverages. Microcosmic salt, used in certain bead tests in chemical analysis, is sodium ammonium phosphate. Organic phosphates play an important role in metabolism. For example, in the metabolism of sugars (which have hydroxyl groups, -OH, in their molecules), phosphate esters are often formed as an intermediate compound. Formation of these esters is called phosphorylation. Nucleotides are phosphate esters that play an important role in the conservation and use of the energy released in the metabolism of foods in the body; adenosine triphosphate is an important nucleotide. DNA and RNA (see nucleic acid) are complex polymeric organic phosphates.