- filter_var: documentation ( source)
- str_replace: documentation ( source)
<?php
$input='a³';
$text=str_replace("\n\n", "z000" ,$input);
$text=str_replace("\n", "z111" ,$text);
$text=filter_var($text,FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS, FILTER_FLAG_STRIP_LOW);
$text=str_replace("z000", "<br/><br/>" ,$text);
$text=str_replace("z111", "<br/>" ,$text);
echo $text;