ESSENTIAL GAS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 33, 8 August 1934, Page 11

ESSENTIAL GAS

USE OF NITROGEN

PRODUCTS FOR PEACE AND WAR

FIXATION PBOOESS

Atmospheric nitrogen and tho , part it plays in agriculture, industry, and "war, were discussed, in a lecture delivered Toeently to t!ie New Zealand Institute of Chemistry by Mr. J. A. Bruce.

In recent, years, he said, the question of raw materials for food and industry had profoundly affected, if not dominated, the relationships of the various nations., The nitrogen fixation industry, now one of the greatest in the world, had shown how nitrogenous compounds,, indispensable in peace and war, can be fabricated from siich simple- raw materials as air, water? and'eoal by the application of elementary principles of chemistry and physics. Nitrogen in tho form ot! its many different compounds supplied food for man and animals. In war it was a dcs-

tractive explosive. In peace it was used for quarrying, clearing • land for cultivation, and road-building. The Panama Canal, for instance, could riot have been constructed without tho aid of explosives made from nitrogen. In chemical technology, where it was largely used in the form of nitric acid, it was employed in the manufacture of dyes, substitutes for silk and leather, photographic films, and a great number of other products. In recent years about 13 per cent, of the world's total nitrogen production had been used for industrial purposes and about 87 per cent, for agriculture. As chemical industries developed and the food'requirements of the world increased, the demand for new and cheaper sources of nitrogen' increased also. It then became apparent that tho practically inexhaustible supply of nitrogen in the atmosphere must be tapped. Then of course tho chemist commenced work. On every square mile of the earth's .surface rests something like twenty million tons of nitrogen, calculated as enough to last the world for about ten years at the present rate of consumption. Therefore the nitrogen of the air as a raw material need give those who utilise it in manufacture for agriculture or industry, no causo for anxiety as to how long the supply would last. No Government could place an embargo on it and it could not be held by a monopolist. The nitrogen requirements of the world could bo -entirely supplied from tho atmosphere, if necessary, for all time. Whatever amount of nitrogen \vas withdrawn from the atmosphere by fixation was -ultimately returned to it by the nitrogen cycle—that is to say, when nitrogen was introduced into the soil it was assimilated by plants, to be in turn consumed by animals; and finally as a result of decomposition it was returned to the air as free nitrogen. • Tho lecturer proceeded to pointy out the great importance to the British Empire of a supply of nitrogen, for, among other things, it closely concerned the production of cheap food. S,o far the Empire had about five plants, tlio huge British plant at Billingkam-on-Tees ranking about the third largest in tho world. Germany, ho said, \had the two largest jplants, %nd he wont into details to .snow how Germany secured from the air the nitrogen necessary for tho manufacture of ammunition during the war. "Present considerations from, the point of view of military preparedness," he said, "indicate that a nitrogen fixation plant for the supply of explosives and fertilisers is of more importance to Australia and Singapore than to New Zealand, whose, explosives supply, in the ordinary course Of events, amounts only to some few hundreds of tons annually." Mi\ Bruce went on to discuss, the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, and illustrated Ms lecture with a number of interesting diagrams, photographs, and charts. ' ■ A NITROGEN SURPLUS. Dealing with, the question of the pro-' sent nitrogen surplus, Mr. Bruce remarked that no doubt one of the reasons for it was the war spirit, kept alive since the last war, and the numerous plants erected at strategic points in various countries for defensive purposes. "Tho main reason is, howover, that farmers throughput the world cannot afford to pay high, prices for fertilisers. The price paid for the farmer's produce has for some time boon so near the cost of production that he has no margin for contingencies. Increases in crop production do not helj} the situation. Perhaps in time it may be met by a lowering of the costs of production and giving the farmer a more equitable share of what the. consumer pays. It is to lowering the costs of production that agricultural research is being applied with increasing vigour; to increase the output per unit of labour and of money put into tho land, and to reduce waste and losses. Cheaper nitrogen will play an important part iri this direction. .

"The consumption of nitrogen, in New Zealand agricultnre, although relatively insignificant, will doubtless slowly increase with the more intensive development of farms and oreliards. The importance of utilising natural nitrogen resources by the ploughing in of legumes, ct<;., as well as the conservation of .live-stock and. other organic, manures, cannot be- overlooked. For instance, it does not seem to bo a sound practice- for blood, and blood and bone, to be exported from New Zealand.

QUESTION OF LOCAL PLANT.

"The use of nitrogenous compounds such as cyanainide and also several of the ammonium compounds may in the future play a larger part in the topdressing programme in conjunction with phosphate aud potash in serving a dual purpose of suppressing weeds and stimu-lating-pasture grasses, our main crop. If nitrogen fixation processes develop to such an extent that they can produce nitrogen fertiliser carriers at prices similar to superphosphate, the question of erecting a nitrogen fixation factory becomes most important from tho standpoint of our agricultural development. "From the. standpoint of defensive purposes New Zealand, having regard to its size and geographical position, is naturally weak, and tho qiiostion of the erection of a smali pilot nitrogen plant for explosives manufacture may have to be considered. Admittedly it is now possible to operato a small plant with an output of 1000 tons annually. The knowledge gained would no doubt bo useful for the erection of a larger plant if our agricultural development justified it. In the meantime, however, processes of nitrogon fixation might rapidly change and any plant erected become obsolete very quickly indeed. About 720 tons of explosives were imported in 1929, 60 per cent, coming from the United Kingdom, and the rest from Australia. It seems rather doubtful whether this amount would justify the erection of a small pilot plant, even if other industrial uses were found for the products. :

"Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen ou a iurge scale was proposed some years ago in New Zealand. A concession was received for power in the Sounds district. For various reasons this project is apparently no longer entertained. In

the period 1912-21 wo importer! 8245 tons of inorganic nitrogenous fertilisers, and from 1922-31, 39,420 vtons. In 1932----33 wo imported 8707 tons, including 6840 tons of sulphate* of ■ammonia. In 1933----34 the totals dropped to 3562 tons, of which 283 3 tons were sulphate of ammonia. However, in view of the present state of the market for nitrogenous fertilisers, it. would appear that an atmospheric nitrogen factory in Now Zealand would not be an economically sound proposition.*?