It is one of the least appreciated substances on the planet and its misuse is now threatening to unleash environmental mayhem. Phosphorus is a key component of fertilisers that have become vital in providing food for the world. But at the same time, the spread of these phosphorus compounds – known as phosphates – into rivers, lakes and streams is spreading algal blooms that are killing fish stocks and marine life on a huge scale.

It is a striking mismatch that is now being tackled by a project of remarkable simplicity. The company Rookwood Operations, based in Wells, Somerset, has launched a product that enables phosphates to be extracted from problem areas and then reused on farmland.

This week one of the ­company’s founders, Jane Pearce, will be awarded a £75,000 Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award for her role in setting up the project. “Our product has a straightforward goal – to transfer phosphates from rivers and lakes where they are causing real damage and move them in a simple manner to farmland, where they can be of use in growing crops,” Pearce told the Observer last week.

The key to the intriguing transfer is a substance simply known as Phosphate Removal Material or PRM. Recently developed, it is about to undergo trials with a local water company in Somerset and these will be followed up in a few months with tests with a national company.