SYNTHETIC FERTILISERS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1932, Page 12

SYNTHETIC FERTILISERS

MAY BE MADE IN DOMINION ENGLISH COMPANY INTERESTED. . ’ GRANTING OF MONOPOLY. . There is a likelihood that a plant for the manufacture in New Zealand of fertilisers' and by-products by the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen may be established by an English company, according to information given to a Christchurch Sun reporter by Dr. D. G. McMillan, M/8,, Ch.B., of Kurow- . Dr. McMillan, who was interested in the flotation of a New Zealand company for the same purpose, has been informed by the Development of Industries Committee that the Government is considering the granting of a monopoly to the English company, i ’ Dr. McMillan said that he held a license from the Ammonia Casale Company, of Italy, for the manufacture by its ’process of synthetic ammonia; which was the basis of the manufacture of nitrates. . , “Last August,” he said, “I interviewed the Minister of Public Works with -the object of getting a quotation for the necessary electric power. I laid all my proposals and intentions before him, and he gave me a good quotation from the Hydro-Electric Department for the supply of power. “On the strength of the Government quotation I cabled to the Ammonia Casale Company for detailed specifications of the plant, with the idea of forming a New Zealand company to carry out the manufacture of hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonia, ammonium sulphate, nitric acid and ammonium, njjrate. “Last week I got a letter from the Development of Industries, Committee informing me that the Government was considering granting the sole rights of manufacture of nitrates in New Zealand to an English company. “I understand the monopoly will be for ammonium nitrate only,” said Dr. McMillan, “but that is the .key to the whole thing.” , He explained that the plant of the company he proposed to form would have been at Hornby, where large and cheap supplies of sulphuric acid would .have been obtainable, and the company would have required a capital of about £150,000. That of the English company, he believed, was very much greater. By the Casale process, he said, hydrogen was obtained by the electrolysis of water and nitrogen by the fractional distillation of liquid air. These mixed together and passed through the catalyst tube produced ammonia, which, put into sulphuric acid, gave ammonium sulphate. To manufacture ammonium nitrate, ammonia was mixed with air and passed over another i catalyst tube, giving the oxides of nitrogen,. which, when absorbed ■ in- water, produced nitric acid. By passing more ammonia into the nitric acid,- ammonium nitrate was produced. “Nothing would be imported,” said Dr. McMillan, “and we could produce nitrates as cheaply as anywhere in the world. ‘ Ammonium sulphate sells. at about £9 a ton, and is not nearly as good a manure as ammonium nitrate. We could sell ammonium pitrate more cheaply than ammonium sulphate is at present being sold, arid at about half the figure at present being charged for Chile nitrates.”

. Dr. McMillan added that the new industry would not employ more than between 80 and 100 men, and in any case he did not see ; how the English company could Begin, operations until after the completion of the Waitaki hydro-electric works, owing to ths jinwiwt of power that would be required. ■ 1 .