The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-02

experimentations will revolutionize the fertilizer industry of the world.
 On a commercial basis it has pro- duced phosphoric acid without treating the phosphate rock with sulphuric acid. The process newly devised preserves the rock, makes the production of phosphoric acid more abundant, and greatly reduces the cost. This is ac- complished by heating the phosphate rock, sand and coke to a smelting tenn perature in a fuel fed furnace.
 The phosphate used for fertilizer in the United States comes chiefly from Florida. There are also deposits in South Carolina and Tennessee. The established method of producing phosphate has consisted in treating the rock with sulphuric acid. In practice quantity of the acid equal to the quantity of the rock is used, and the resulting product which is known as acid phosphate contains only one-half the percentage of phosphoric acid con tained in the rock from which it was derived. The elaborate washing and screening process in preparing phos- phate rock for treatment with sul- phuric acid results in the loss of two- thirds of the rock. It was to save this immense waste of phosphate that the new process was evolved.
 The department of agriculture has been experimenting for a long time with heat in freeing the acid from the rock. The first work was done in an electric furnace. At temperature of 2900 degrees Fahrenheit the phosphate rock, sand and coke were reduced to a molten slag which was tapped off at intervals, the phosphoric acid escaping in the form of fumes which were alter wards collected in liquid or solid form.
 It was soon demonstr trated, however. that production of phosphoric acid by use of an electric furnace would be prohibitive because of the cost involved. The department then turned its atten- ton to crude oil The experiments were highly successful
 The practical value of the develop ment according to the department. IS indicated by the fact that, i'll the ex- perimental runs, chemists were able to recover a 64-percent phosphoric acid as against the l6-percent product ordi- iiarily obtained py the sulphuric acid process. By passing Ammohia gas into this phospnoric acid, solid ammonium phosphate, & very concentrated mate rlal con, aiming two valuable fertilizer ingredients, results. This material can stand heavy transportation and han ding charges. 1t is also practicable to mix the phosphoric acid with phosphate rock ill sucL proportions as to give 8 product containing 50 per cent or solu. ple phosphoric acid. This product is similar in properties to ordinary 16- percent acid phosphate. is convenient 10 handle, and may be used by an in, telligent farmer who has the technical knowledge to reduce the quantity placed upon the soll, and to guard against direct contact with seed. Ii will also permit a material saving ir freight to central plants where the product may be diluted, or mixed with other ingredients for shorter hauls. The difference between a 50-percent prod uct and 16-percent product means ar immense saving in freight charges, and a release of larger quantities of rolling stock and vessel tonnage now engaged in the transportation of phosphate and phosphate rock
 While the actual cost of the new process in a large industrial plant Is difficult to estimate with accuracy in the work thus far done even on a small scale, it was found that the fuel con sumption was only about Is percent of the value of the product, while with the sulphuric acid process, the cost oi the acid used seldom ran below 22 per cent. This factor. together with the reduction of freight charges, justifies the assumption that the new process will be of the utmost importance to the fertilizer industry and to the farm CTS who are compelled to use con- stantly increasing amount of commer- cial fertilizer.