The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1916-11-10
NITROGEN FROM
AIR TOO COSTLY
Or. H. 0. Porter Asserts United
States Can Produce enough
From Coal.
CASE NOT LIKE GERMANYS
Chemist Believes There viii Be No
Dearth Of Product In This Country
in Case of War-Ammonia
Production.

Production.
New York.-Amoug the papers pre-
pared by well-knOwn chemists and
read ut the sessions Of the American
Chemical society during its annual
meeting for 1916, held during the sec
ond annual chemical exposition at
Grand Central palace, was one by DR.
Horace O. Porter, an industrial chem'
list of Pittsburgh, in which lia predict
ed that nitrogen would be extracted
from the atmosphere in this country
Doctor Porter, however, told of other
sources from which nitrogen could be
produced in the United States ut the
present time, more cheuply than from
The atmosphere in such large quantities
that there would be no danger of II
dcarth Of nitrogen here in the event
of war, such as was threatened In Ger
many when her sources of outside sup
ply We're cut Off in the present war.
The liXatiOn of nitrogen from the
atmosphere for application in agriCul-
lure and the arts is an industrial de-
NclOpment now thoroughly well es-
tablished in several foreign countries.
In Better Shape Than Germany.
whether in America, in the emer-
gcncy Of great war and the shutting
of of our foreign supply Of nitrate, we
should be obliged to meet the situation
in the same way as Germany has done
is very doubtful. Atmospheric nitro
gen fiNatiOn will without question even
uully be established in this country.
This will be when its costs, including
capital charges, shall have become low
enough to admit of profitable tXpan-
sion Of the industry. & NT.i 0e wei
come as IN additional ana un&mited
source Of fixed nitrogen independent
of the uncern,Iurs OF foreign i'm
purtation.
at present, 10 eey e., owing to con
ditions affecting the cost Of power in
this country, fixed nitrogen can com
mercially be ha" more cheaply from
coal. II the sug2ly. therefore, is ade-
quate from the litter source for an
emergency of war, there is no need of
government subsidy for atmospheric
nitrogen liXatiCn. AS to prices Of
fixed nitrogen to the farmer in times
of peace, the producers prices Of coal
nitrogen are on par with
lhOse in foreign countries and with
those Of other forms Of fertilizer nj
Togen in this or other countries.
Tine available supply Of fixed nitro
gen from coal is adequate to this coun-
try's military needs in any reasonable
By-product ammonia is
being produced in rapidly increasing
quantities. The CruX Of Americas sit
uatiOn as compared to Germuny's is
that we are not called upon to reserve
our entire by-prOduCt ammonia sup
ply for agriculture; ample food crops
for domestic consumption in time of
war are assured Us without the use Of
fertilizer, while Germany, on the 9th
er hand, is absolutely dependent on
such use, especially Of nitrogenous fer
ulizer, and has had even to increase
her use Of ammonium sulphate in this
way since the beginning Of the war.
Government Plant Insufficient.
"The by-product coking and coal ga7
industries Of the United States have
today capacity of making 10000 tons
Of ammonia per year. Within eighteen
they will increase this capacity
to 10000 tons. From 80 per cent to
10 per cent Of this capacity is for am
mOnia in the form Of liquor, and, with
slight adjustment of those plants max
ing sulphate, this capacity for liquor
can be increased TO 80 per cent or
more, that is, to 10000 tons Of am
mOnia. The recent appropriation by
Of $2OOG0,000 for a govern
ment nitrate plant will, if devoted to
a water-power-cyanamide process in
,tallation, yield not over 10000 tons
Of ammonia per year. and the probable
needs of the government in the event
Of war have been estimated at $780,
300 tons of nitric acid, corresponding
to about 10000 tons of ammonia.
Germany makes all Of her coke by
the by-prOduct process and therefore
Is unable to increase her ammonia out
put from coke ovens without increase
in coke production; America, how
ever, by turning still more from bee
hive to by-product coking, can more
than double her ammonia production
without an increase Of coke. Further
more, the production and use of coke
in America have every prospect of ma
terial increase, giving still larger am
monia production.
"The nitrogen reserves in the min
able coal Of the United States (not in
Guiding peaD amount to 30,OO0,000-
300 tons. The amount recoverable by
present industrial methods of carbon
zation in ovens or gasifying in by
product producers is at least 100000
tons. From the bituminous coal mined
in the United States in 1915, 100000
tons of nitrogen We're thus recover
able. if all such coal had been coked
Or gasiiied.
"The apparatus and processes for
recovery of fixed nitrogen from coal
IRE not complicated, expensive, or i'm
Publication of the am
monia to any degree is practicable and
not costly"