NITROGEN FIXATION

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 104, 3 May 1924, Page 16

NITROGEN FIXATION

LATEST STATISTICS OF WORLD

production!

From statistics recently published, it appears that, while the output of fixed nitrogen in the form of Chili nitrate and by-product ammonia increased from tons in 1909 to 923,000 tons in 1921, the progress in artificially fixed nitrogen is represented ■by the much more remarkable figures of 5500 tons in 1909 to 872,700-tons in 1921, states the "Daily Telegraph." The bulk of this is produced by the Haber ammonia and the cyanamid process. The production of the various arc processes seems V6, ma<le Very little advance, from 192300 tons ""■ 191T to 36,000 tons in

As far as Great Britain is concerned, production has been on only a very small scale, sufficiently large, however, to lead to an appreciation of some of the difficulties which would be met in the operation of big plants. There has recently been very little increase in the output. .There is, at present, a- small Haber unit in operation at the Castner-Kellner works at Weston Point, which is oivinoresults which are deemed to be entirely satisfactory. Here attention has been given, with considerable success to many points aiming at a simpler operation Again, at Bplingham-on-Tees a plant for synthetic ammonia by a modified Haber process is nearing completion. This is intended to have a Productive capacity of 120 tons of ammonium sulphate and ammonium chloride per day. An ample site has been procured, which will admit of the subsequent extension of the plant up to 1000 tons per day, and it will be watched with, close interest when it commences productive operation. In view of the very considerable amount of research which has been devoted to this subject in other countries, there would still appear to be room for more organised investigation in Britain, with the object of, sooner or later, rendering England entirely independent of overseas supplies of fixed nitrogen. During the past year a very complete summary of the whole position of "Nitrates and ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen" was given by Mr E Kilbui-n Scott, M.1.E.E., in three Cantor lectures before the Royal Society of Arts. These lectures, which have since .been published, comprehensively, yet ; concisely, survey the world position of the industry, which, gaining ground even before 1914, assumed paramount importance during the war, and even now constitutes one, the importance of which'is too great to assess accurately at present.