First published in Cleantech magazine, November/December 2009. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2009

By John O'Brien, Australian CleanTech

Phoslock Water Solutions (PHK) manufactures and distributes a product, ‘Phoslock’, that was invented and developed by Australia’s leading research organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) during ten years of research and development. Phoslock removes filterable reactive phosphorus (FRP) from the water body and forms a diffuse layer on top of the sediment that continues to react with the phosphate released from the sediment. FRP is one of the essential nutrients for phytoplankton (including algae and blue-green algae) growth. Through removal of this substance, the growth and proliferation of algae and blue-green algae is decreased owing to the nutrient limitation.