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@bodes   Would be curious to know how the astronomers & astrobiologists were able to discount their phosphine as having been inorganically produced via the protonation of phosphide (e.g., exogenously-delivered mineral phosphide contained in metallic meteorites).

I don’t know enough about the chemistry, but I imagine it’s also being looked at.  It’s not like the finding was universally accepted, indeed seems there’s some healthy skepticism going around – so I’ll bet someone is looking in that also.

In chemistry, protonation (or hydronation) is the addition of a proton (or hydron, or hydrogen cation), (H+) to an atom, molecule, or ion, forming the conjugate acid.

We thoroughly explore the potential pathways of formation of phosphine in a Venusian environment, including in the planet’s atmosphere, cloud and haze layers, surface, and subsurface. We investigate gas reactions, geochemical reactions, photochemistry, and other non-equilibrium processes. None of these potential phosphine production pathways are sufficient to explain the presence of ppb phosphine levels on Venus.

The presence of PH3, therefore, must be the result of a process not previously considered plausible for Venusian conditions. The process could be unknown geochemistry, photochemistry, or even aerial microbial life, given that on Earth phosphine is exclusively associated with anthropogenic and biological sources. The detection of phosphine adds to the complexity of chemical processes in the Venusian environment and motivates in situ follow up sampling missions to Venus. …

http://astrobiology.com/2020/09/phosphine-on-venus-cannot-be-explained-by-conventional-processes.html