The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-08-13
A NEW FERTILIZER
FROM MOLASSES
'Molassed Superphosphate' In
vented BY Beet Sugar Chem
lst New Chemical Manure
May Solve Planters Problem
f.. Of What To Do With -
~ is Molasses

Inc question Oh what TO 40 WIN
waste molasses TO get the highest valpe
out of it has long interested plantation
men. The only direct use to which it
can be put Is as cattle feed, but the
difieulty Of handling 1t has deferred
many from making full use Of moIasses
in this way. s-
Commercial potassium cyanide and
ammonium chloride are indirect by prod.
ucts OF the European beet sugar indus.
try. At practically all of the German
best factories the molasses Is either
burned to recover the potash, or con.
centrated by evaporation and sold TO
the cyanamide factories. .
The cyanamide works not only reeov.
err all of the potash but sixty to seventy
per cent of the nitrogen as potassium
cyanide and ammonium chloride. Thir-
ty to forty per cent Of the nitrogen in
the mOlasses is lost, the Industrial chem
lists who are working on this problem
along these lines not having as yet sue
eeeded in devising any method to pre-
vent this loss. Nor have they been sue
cessful, in Transforming the molasses
through any combination with eyana.
mide into q manure, in such form that
it can be economically handled, because
the molasses even in concentrated form,
or in cyanamide mixtures, remains by.
gtoscopie, n... &
why Molasses Is STICKY" " q.
The continued sickness Of molasses
Hnd its mixtures and combinations has
been found to be due to the presence Of
k.r0 nj nd
especially OF betaine. One Of the Eu-
ropean sugar chemists, Andrlik, has
shown that the acid phosphate of be-
tame is not microscopic.
Similar sticky, or water attracting
compounds, occur in cane molasses.
This fact of the non sickness of the
acid phosphate constituents Of molasses
Is fundamental to the bone char rein.
ing processes with both beet and cane
sugars. In this refining process, as is
well known, a definite amount of phos-
phoric acid is added to the melted raws
before passing the solution through the
char filters and all the molasses Is pre-.
ripitated allowing the crystal-white,
pure sugar to be recovered.
A New Molasses Fertilizer
Drawing his idea from the refining
rrocess, II. Stoltzenberg, as reported in
the Chemiker.Zeitung, in 1914, has now
succeeded in making over the eoncen-
trated mOlasses ofuthe raw beet sugar
factories directly into fertilizer con
tanning so per cent of soluble and 80
per cent undecomposed organic sub.
stances.
The new fertilizer, known as emo
lassed superphOsphate' is dry, easily
crumbled and keeps well. The product
do " not damage bags and is claimed to
have the advantage over other chemical
fertilizers of providing humus material
as a basis for bacterial development in
the soil. II required, nitrate Of soda,
sulphate of ammonia and potash salts
e"y be added to 1t in order to increase
the nitrogen and potash content and
make complete fertilizer.
StoItzenberg g first success was OBJ
tanned by adding calculated amount
of phosphorie acid to concentrated mo
lrsses residues and then drying them.
Che product was dry, friable and non
hygrOscOpic!
From superphosphate Direct
Retter results still were obtained
when the residues were mixed with SUI
perphosphate and the mixture heated to
a temperature of 226 degrees Fahren-
heft. The material thus prepared is
crumbly, keeps well and is easy to ap,
ply. IT Is not sticky and does not take
up moisture from the air. The mixture
was in the proportion of three parts 81
perphosphate to two and one-half parts
concentrated molasses Tesidues.
Chemical analyses of molassed super
phosphate showed thirty per cent or
ganie. substances and the following
chemical salts, double limepotash phos-
phate, sulphates and ehlOrides of potash
and soda, gypsum, and undecOmpOsed
phosphates from the superphosphate.
Field experiments have not been car
ried ON TO determine the actual feri
lizer value of the, new material, but il
is assumed that will be as high or high
er than for the phOsphoric wastes from
the sugar reAneries. The process of
manufacture 10 not a patented one. II
it can be adapted to the treatment of
cane molasses the manufacture Of mo-
lassed superphosphate opens up new
source Of profit to the i.lanters---as it
may cut down the annual potash bill as
well as supply a use for the large vol
umes of waste 'nolasses.
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