Evening journal., 1918-02-09
America HAS ample
nitrate Sources
DUPONT Co. Develops Chilean
Fields, Breaking German
Monopoly
CHEMISTS HEAR
WORK DISCUSSED

the Delaware section Of the American
Chemical Society at Hanna's last night,
told OF Americas independence Of Ger
many's monopoly OF potash. Mr.. Bar
ton has been conducting practical dem
onstratlons in extracting potash In
large and profitable quantities from
Chilean nitrate heretofore not consider
ed as a source Of supply.
Not only has the dupont Company
succeeded In producing potash In pay
ing commercial quantities from the
Chilean nitrate ores, but the secrets OF
the process have been given to repre-
sentatlves Of allied countries, which
operate plants In the nitrate fields OF
Chile, Mr. Barton said.
About one per cent. only Of the out
put Of the nitrate Of the Chilean fields
Is produced by the dupont Company.
but 70 has succeeded by its process
in producing 10000 tons a year Of a
product containing % per cent. OF pot
ash nitrate This Is equal to about 1900
tons Of potassium oxide.
The others Of the POO nitrate plants
In Chile are capable Of producing an
average quantity Of potash equal TO
that produced by the dupont Company
on this basis the production would
be 10000 tons a year. but the process
can be further developed and impr0v-
ed. There Is good reason 10 believe
that In a short time Il can be improved
70 such an extent that instead Of recov-
ering about one-thlrd OF the potash
In the ore it may be possible 10 re-
cover virtually all and thereby brine
the total possible output up TO 720OO0
tons year. This is almost as much
az the entire pre-war consumption Of
potash in the United states.
Germanvs sale OF potash before the
war 10 the entire world amounted 70
only about 100000 tons a year.
The development Of these processes
by the dupont Nitrate Companl. mark:
great step forward in world pro
gress. the speaker said Mr.. Bartor
outlined the whole process during ais
talk before the chemists and surpriseC
many Of them by his statement tha
this process had been in operation and
had been improving constantly Tor
long while.
In his formal statement on the sub
iect Mr.. Barton said:
From the beginning OF our opera
tions we had known that our calichi
qt Ohlcna Delaware contained soml
potash and that our product contained
on an average about > per cent. O
nitrate Of potash. Working constantly
on various theories for securing bet
ter Yields and knowing that we coul'
secure a desirable product for our re-
nneries II we could get a nitrate con
tanning a higher percentage OF nitrate
Of potash, we found that by taking th
mother liquors coming from the crys
tallizing pans and eyapOraiing it 90
high density there was deposited from
this upon cooling a product whlcl
contained on an average about p pc
cent. Of nitrate Of potash. We had no
found it a practical proposition TO in
stall evaporators for this purpose un
IN in the latter part Of the year 1914
when the price Of muriate Of potasl
started TO climb up from s35 per ton Il
a peak price OF about $500 per ton j
October, 1914. we produced our frs
II. P.--or high potash nitrate, and b,
securing further evaporat0rs we wer
able to increase our production OF thi
so that we have for a year or NOR
secured about 25 per cent. Of our out
nut in this form. We estimate rough
that ND to October 1917, we secure
from this source at least 5000 tons O
nitrate Of potash, IN the form Of abou
10000 tons OF our so-called 25 per cent
". P. nitrate.
I'VE erected three evaporators nea
the end OF the maquina. The first wa
an old evaporator which had formed
mart OF the old Nordenfycht maquin'
which was on the property when W
bought it. The old maquina was tor
down and parts Of this old evaporato
had been utilized for other purpose.
hut were reassembled and 10 has bee
giving steady use. The other two evap
orators were bought from another nj
trats company that had received theI
but never erected them, owing, we be
lleve. 10 their having gotten cold feet
due 10 the trouble others had eXper
enced through corrosion in evaporatoI
when treating the liquors Of the usu'
operations. We anticipated the corrC
sive effects, suffered from them. but
wear ago were able 10 eliminate or
least minimize the corrosion very ene'
lively by the addition 20 the liquor
a small amount Of sodium carbonate.
you can understand that this H.
nitrate has proven very valuabie !
the dupont Company, and we kept ratt
er quiet about this portion Of our opel
atlons until shortly after our entry ini
The war. 10 was then realized that IN
needs Of the country were such that
was 70. the interest Of the dupont Con
pany 20 surrender its position OF var
age aud the representatives OF the a
lied and neutral governments who'
subjects operate nitrate plants IN Cnh
were advised that the dupont Compan
was willing TO share with them It's s.
crets in the production OF this matt
rial"
The value Of this process TO N
world is emphasized by the knowled9
that potash produced In Chile is by
nroduct Of the nitrate industry an
nat heretofore Chile has never bee
considered as source OF supply. Il
whole world seemed 20 take it fS
granted that Germany held the monol
DIV of this chemical which could NJ
he broken. Efforts TO produce nitra'
from other American sources since u
war began have not been remarkabl
successful. The available figures sho
mat during 1916 only 10000 tons wei
nroduced by all OF the processes
America. =,