Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-15
NITROGEN FROM AIR.
Economic Source Of a Valuable Com
n,erciai Commodity.

Economic Source of a Valuable Com.
rnereiaI Commodity.
To appreciate the Importance Of the
discovery Of obtaining nitrogen from
the air It should be realized that nj
trogen is just about the most useful
substance in the world. 1t enters
largely into the composition Of all
plant and animal tissues. The meat
and vegetables we eat contain con-
siderable percentage Of it, and It Is
the most essential element Of the stuff
In our food which goes to make flesh
and blood. The body Of an average
man holds nearly four pounds Of nj
trogen.
Inasmuch as four-fifths Of the air
we breathe Is nitrogen 1t Is obvious
that the available supply Of the stuff
Is practically inexhaustible and unlim-
tied. II we could only get at 1t. 1t is
a colorless gas, without taste or odor
and serves usefully to dilute the at
to be taken into the lungs in a pure
state. Plants, especially clover, absorb
1t from the air. and thus enrich soil In
which they grow. But this Is a slow
process and farmers supplement 1t by
fertilizing with nitrogen salts (called
nitrates), which are mostly obtained
from Chile.
Now, however, a means has been found
to bring it within reach Of the every
day farmer, the air being led to give
up its stores Of nitrogen for fertilizing
and other industrial purposes, the pro-
cess employed being so simple and
cheap that the nitrates Of Chile are
likely soon to be driven out of the
market. The discovery was made by
accident, incidentally to the manu-
tacture Of acetylene gas. to obtain
which calcium Is fused with charcoal
in an electric furnace. 1t was found
that when a current Of nitrogen gas
was admitted to the furnace 1t COM
bined with the materials present to
form a substance which, when analyzed
proved to contain from 10 to % per
cent of pure nitrogen. BY further
treatment Of simple character 1t was
so far refined as to yield no less than
Sc per cent Of the precious substance.
One might ask: How Is the nitro
gen gas obtained for use in the elec-
trio furnace? Nothing could be more
simple. A current Of air Is passed over
hot plates Of copper, which burn oxy-
gen, and the nitrogen enters the fur
mace in a practically pure state. Once
admitted, 1t combines with the cal
cium and charcoal to form crude Jumps
Of material, which, on being refined,
take the form Of a white granular
substance, not unlike sugar in appear
ance.
Out Of this valuable salt an expert
chemist can manufacture products
which are available for a great varie-
ty Of commercial uses. He may, II he
chooses, convert 1t into sulphate Of am
monia, which is exceedingly precious
as a fertilizing agent: or he can trans
form 1t into cyanides, which are en-
ployed nowadays in ever so many
ways from the extraction Of gold from
it's ore to the determination Of insects
on fruit trees. AS a basis for explos-
ives, such as nitroglycerin and gum
cotton, it is likely to take the place
Of the nitrate Of soda from Chile.
The process, once known, Niagara
Falls alone, will be able to manufac-
ture enough solidifed nitrogen to sup
ply the worlds demands. Plenty Of
power is furnished by the cataract to
run any number Of furnaces, and one
can easily imagine as a prospect OF
the not distant future the shipment
from that point Of nitrogen bricks In
carload lots, destined for export to all
parts Of the world. They will need
only to be ground UP in order to be
sprinkled, in the shape Of nitrogen
meal, along the burrows dug by the
farmers plow.
Already, for some time past, the
owners of electrical plants at Niagara
Falls have been trying to obtain nitro
gen from the atmosphere by other
means, though not with satisfactory
results. 1t was discovered more than
two centuries ago by Priestly and Cav
endish, that the nitrogen and oxygen
Of the air could be made to combine In
the form Of nitric acid under the influ-
ence Of the electric spark. This hap
pens during every thunder storm, and
rain water that falls under such cir
cumstances, is found to contain a
small per centage Of nitric acid. What
the people at Niagara tried to accom-
plish was the artificial production Of
nitric acid by throwing sparks through
the air with the help Of a powerful
electric apparatus. They got the nj
trio acid, but the trouble was that 1t
cost too much. Such method OF ex-
tracing nitrogen from the atmosphere
could never. 1t was finally realized, be
commercial success.
Nitrogen, In a state Of nature, eX-
lists only as a gas, save, Of course,
where 1t Is combined with other ele-
ments, in plants, in the flesh OF AMI
mails and in mineral salts. Being de-
void Of color, it Is as a gas invisible.
II 1t were otherwise the atmosphere
v,o,ld NOT he the clear and pellucid