Calcium Phosphate is the calcium salt of phosphoric acid with widely used applications. It occur abundantly in nature in several forms and are the principal minerals for the production of phosphate fertilizers and for a range of phosphorus compounds. For example, the tribasic variety (precipitated calcium phosphate), Ca3(PO4)2, is the principal inorganic constituent of bone ash. The acid salt Ca(H2PO4)2, produced by treating mineral phosphates with sulfuric acid, is employed as a plant food and stabilizer for plastics. It is a natural constituent of mammals, and it is a component of bone replacement transplants in much higher amounts with no toxicological problems.
Calcium phosphates are the largest group of artificial bone graft substitutes. This is mainly due to their close resemblance to the mineral components of bone. This Product can be used as a countermeasure for exposure to strontium and radium radionuclides. Upon oral uptake, calcium phosphate competes for and blocks the absorption of radium (Ra-226) and strontium (Sr-90) in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Calcium phosphate, also known as tricalcium phosphate, is a white or almost white powder that is insoluble in water. It reacts with silicon oxide and carbon at electric furnace temperatures to yield phosphorus vapor. When reacted with sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), it forms different products depending on the proportions used: phosphoric acid, dicalcium hydrogen phosphate (CaHPO₄, a white insoluble solid), or calcium dihydrogen phosphate (Ca(H₂PO₄)₂·H₂O, a white soluble solid). Its solubility product constant (Ksp) is 28.70.
White amorphous powder; refractive index 1.63; density 3.14 g/cm3; melts at 1,670°C; insoluble in water; KSP 1.0x10-25; soluble in acids.
Tribasic calcium phosphate occurs in nature as minerals, such as oxyapatite, whitlockite, voelicherite, apatite, and phosphorite. It has many industrial applications, some of which are similar to those of the monobasic and dibasic salts. It is used in fertilizers, dental products, ceramics, and polishing powder.
Other important applications include its use: As a stabilizer in plastics; As an anticaking agent; As a nutrient supplement in cattle feed; For clarifying sugar syrup; As a mordant in dyeing textiles; And as a buffer to control pH.
Calcium Phosphate is an anticaking agent and calcium source that is a white powder that is almost insoluble in water. It is used as an anticaking agent in table salt and dry vinegar. It is used as a source of calcium and phosphorus in cereals and desserts. It functions as a bleaching agent in flour and in lard, and prevents undesirable coloring and improves stability for frying. It is also termed tribasic calcium phosphate, tricalcium orthophosphate, calcium phosphate tribasic, and precipitated calcium phosphate.
Tribasic calcium phosphate is obtained from naturally occurring minerals for fertilizer applications. The compound may be prepared in the laboratory by the reaction of sodium phosphate with calcium chloride with excess of ammonia. Also, it can be prepared by treatment of calcium hydroxide with phosphoric acid:
2H3PO4 + 3Ca(OH)2 → Ca3(PO4)2 + 6H2O
ChEBI: Tricalcium bis(phosphate) is a calcium phosphate.
Calcium Phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2) is an ionic compound that exists in several forms, including monobasic, dibasic, and tribasic calcium phosphate.
Monobasic calcium phosphate, also termed monocalcium phosphate, calcium biphosphate, or acid calcium phosphate, is used as a leavening agent and acidulant.
Dibasic calcium phosphate, also termed dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, is used as a dough conditioner and mineral supplement.
Tribasic calcium phosphate, also termed tricalcium phosphate or precipitated calcium phosphate, is used as an anticaking agent, mineral supplement, and conditioning agent.
Calcium phosphate is used in the manufacture of fertilizers, H₃PO₄ (phosphoric acid), and other phosphorus compounds. It is also used in the production of milk-glass, polishing powders, dental powders, porcelains, and pottery; in enameling; for clarifying sugar syrups; in animal feeds as a mineral supplement; as an anticaking agent; and in the textile industry.[2]
β-tri-Calcium phosphate belongs to the category of calcium-phosphate based ceramics, which has been involved in the preparation of a new biosynthetic material possessing morphogenetic activity that is used as a bone implant.
Flammability and Explosibility
Non flammable
Calcium phosphate [Ca3(PO4)2] finds applications as a supplement for animal feed, as a fertiliser, in the manufacture of glass and in dental products.
[1] SHALINI THOMAS Balakumar S Ajay Rakkesh Rajendran. Influence of pH in the synthesis of calcium phosphate based nanostructures with enhanced bioactivity and pro-angiogenic properties[J]. Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials, 2022, 111 4: 858-871. DOI:
10.1002/jbm.b.35196.
[2] F. Z. ALIYAT. Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria Isolated from Phosphate Solid Sludge and Their Ability to Solubilize Three Inorganic Phosphate Forms: Calcium, Iron, and Aluminum Phosphates[J]. Microorganisms, 2022. DOI:
10.3390/microorganisms10050980.
