Difference Between Single Superphosphate and Triple Superphosphate

The key difference between single superphosphate and triple superphosphate is that single superphosphate is produced from phosphate rock and sulfuric acid, whereas triple superphosphate is produced from phosphate rock and phosphoric acid.

Superphosphate is a group of fertilizers which provides the crops with phosphate mineral element. There are three major types of superphosphates as single superphosphate, double superphosphate and triple superphosphate.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Single Superphosphate
3. What is Triple Superphosphate
4. Side by Side Comparison – Single Superphosphate vs Triple Superphosphate in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Single Superphosphate?

Single superphosphate or SSP is a mineral fertilizer containing a relatively low percentage of phosphorous. It is the first commercial-grade fertilizer. Earlier, this fertilizer was the mostly used phosphorous source, but nowadays, triple phosphate has replaced single phosphate since triple superphosphate has a higher percentage of phosphorous compared to SSP. We can produce single superphosphate fertilizer via the addition of sulfuric acid to naturally phosphate rock. Since it is an improvement of phosphate, it was given the name superphosphate.

At first, people used ground animal bones for the production of this fertilizer. But later, natural deposits of rock phosphate (we call it apetite) replaced the use of animal bones. Also, in this production process, the addition of sulfuric acid to rock phosphate first forms a semi-solid that requires cooling for several hours in a den. Then, it becomes a plastic-like material, and we have to keep it for an additional curing step. In this step, the semi-solid material gets hardened, and then we can granulate it according to the desired particle size.

Difference Between Single Superphosphate and Triple Superphosphate

Figure 01: Single Superphosphate is Important in Plant Growth.

Moreover, single superphosphate can be made on a small scale as well as on a large scale. This fertilizer generally contains calcium monophosphate and gypsum. And, the phosphate content in SSP is about 7-9%. Its calcium content is about 18-21%. In addition to that, the pH is normally below 2. Besides, this fertilizer also contains a small amount of sulfur.

What is Triple Superphosphate?

Triple phosphate is a mineral fertilizer containing a high amount of phosphorous. This fertilizer is produced from phosphate rock via the addition of phosphoric acid. It contains more than twice the phosphorous content of single superphosphate.

Figure 02: Appearance of Triple Superphosphate

Therefore, this fertilizer is highly used due to its high phosphorus content and it is suitable for soil deficient in phosphorous. Phosphorous is important for root development. Most importantly, triple superphosphate contains only phosphorous as a plant nutrient (single superphosphate contains sulfur as well).

What is the Difference Between Single Superphosphate and Triple Superphosphate?

Superphosphates are fertilizers that can provide crops with phosphate mineral. The key difference between single superphosphate and triple superphosphate is that single superphosphate is produced from phosphate rock and sulfuric acid, whereas triple superphosphate is produced from phosphate rock and phosphoric acid. We can denote single superphosphate as SSP, while triple superphosphate as TSP.

Moreover, the phosphorous content is another difference between single superphosphate and triple superphosphate. That is; single superphosphate has a low phosphorous content, but triple superphosphate has a high percentage of phosphorous (about twice as the phosphorous content in SSP). Besides, single phosphate also contains small amounts of sulfur as a micronutrient, while there are no other important plant nutrients in triple superphosphate.

Below infographic tabulates the difference between single superphosphate and triple superphosphate.

Summary – Single Superphosphate vs Triple Superphosphate

Reference:

1. “Superphosphates.” Superphosphate – Chemical Economics Handbook (CEH) | IHS Markit, Available here.
2. “Single Superphosphate.” Mosaic Crop Nutrition, Mosaic Crop Nutrition, Available here.