F e b . . 191j
T H E .TOrRSilL OF INDrSTRIAL A N D EN GISE E RI Y G C H E M I S TR Y
+
of the formula in Table l r I ; namely, y = 1 . 4 . ~ o.oozj12s~. where n: = degrees Brix of syrup a n d y = t h e ounces of sugar added per gallon of water a t 1 7 ' C. This last formula mas obtained b y interpolation of experimental results. One of t h e practical applications of these experimental results is shown in connection with fruit jellymaking. I n determining t h e amount of sugar necessary t o add t o a fruit juice or extract for 3elly making no compensation need be calculated for extracts of less t h a n I j o Brix. 'The right amount of sugar in ounces (more t h a n 60' and less t h a n j z o Brix) may be obtained by adding I . 8 times t h e number of ounces of fruit extract.' TABLEVI OVSCES S C G A R PER GAILOS O F WATER A T l i 0 c. Calculated by McNair y = 1.41P e r cent Observed 0.0025 121-3 Calculated by ' Cruess and hlcNair by (where x = Sugar 1 7 0 c. Bitting degree Brix) s = (65 - a)8!35 0 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 .......... i i.064 19.0 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.8 14.512 38.1 15.. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.5 22,728 57.1 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 . 8 32.096 76.2 75............. 43 . 0 44.5 95.2 114.3 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57.12 55.824 i0.952 133.4 35.. . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1 .i5 152.4 88.768 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8 . 8 171.5 4 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109.0 109.656 so . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133.3 134.9 190.7 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163.9 162.184 209.8 228.6 6 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.0 194.592 247.9 6.5, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231.608 273.616 7 0 . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
+
__
The author n-ould like t o express his gratitude t o Professor T. Brailsford Robertson anti Assistant Professor William l-. Cruess for assistance during this i ny e st 1gat i o n . P. 0. B o x I25 BERKELEY CALIFORNIA
BANANA STALKS AS A SOURCE OF POTASH By H. IS. BILLIXGS A N D A. a'. CHRISTIE
possible treatment of such material for the recovery of its potassium suggested t h e following experimental work. SATURE O F VATERIAL-The material used comprised individual banana stalks obtained from fruit markets after removal of t h e fruit. The stalk is of a n endogenous nature, with its vascular bundles SO arranged as to form a collection of tubes through which t h e sap flows. Such a structure permits of very rapid drying. The stalks varied in weight from z t o 4 lbs.. averaging about 3 lbs., and were found t o be \-ery constant in moisture, ranging from 9 1 . z t o 9 2 . 6 per cent water C 0 3 I P O S I T I O S O F D R Y xaTTER-The stalks were chopped into pieces about one in. long and dried in t h e oven. The dried samples were exceedingly friable and easily broken or ground in a mortar. A sample was analyzed for fertilizing constituents with t h e following results : Per cent T o t a l nitrogen ( S ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.44 Total phosphoric acid (PzOa). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 4 2 Total potash (Kz0). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 46 Water-soluble potash (KzO), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . 72 Moisture.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.05
T h e d r y matter is as rich in potash as commercial kainit a n d may be considered nearly as valuable, since 74 per cent of t h e potash is soluble in water. Were this material used as a fertilizer, i t is reasonable t o assume t h a t t h e organic matter would in time decompose in t h e soil with t h e formation of humus, resulting in t h e subsequent release of t h e remainder of t h e potash in an available condition. This material also approximates t h e composition and value of dried kelp,' which a t the present time is being used t o a considerable extent as a filler in commercial fertilizers. I n certain respects, t h e material under consideration is probably superior t o kelp for this purpose. Especially t o be noted is t h e fact t h a t banana stalks contain only very slight amounts of sodium and chlorine whereas kelp contains such quantities as t o throw it into t h e class of kainit or other chlorinated salts. E X T R A C T I O X O F SrlLTs-lYeighed amounts O f t h e dry matter were charred sufficiently t o destroy organic matter and t h e resulting char leached with 'successive small portions of distilled water. About 16 per cent of t h e dry matter was recovered in t h e form of watersoluble salts. X maximum yield was obtained with water representing j times the weight of original dry matter. The salts were dried t o constant weight a t 100' C . ! and analyzed with the following results:
Received S o v e m b e r 27. 1916
The great demand for potash salts during t h e past two years has led t o t h e in\-estigation of many materials, occurring either naturally or as waste products. with a x-iew t o t h e possible commercial utilization of their potash content. Ellis.? in a n ash analysis of t h e banana stalk, called attention t o t h e surprisingly high percentage of potash in this material. I n every large American city thousands of these stalks are discarded as garbage weekly. T h e I J. B. MclL,air, "Failures in Jelly Making a n d Their Remedies," The California Culiii'afor. No. 26, 46 (1916). 736. 2 J. Soc. Ciaern. Ind., 35 (1916). 456.
153
Silica (SiOz), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iron oxide (Fe90zi.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alumina ( h h O 3 ) .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manganese oxide (MnsOl), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lime (CaO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Magnesia (Rig()). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Potash (K 20). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...........................
...........................
......................... Carbonic acid ('201.). Chlorine (CI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phosphoric acid ( P d l j ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total per cent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...
Per cent 2.81 Sone None h'onr 0.12 0 .0 i 64.23 0 46 4.17 26.11 1.57 0.34 99.88
T h e above figures show t h a t the leached salts consist of over 90 per cent potassium carbonate. This salt should command a price equal t o t h a t quoted for any 1
Calif. Agr. Expt. Sta., Bull. 248.
I54
*
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
85 per cent potassium carbonate on t h e market, which i n recent quotations was close t o one dollar per pound. Every t o n of fresh material will yield 2 7 pounds of this 90 per cent potassium carbonate. M E T H O D S OF HANDLING-By pressing t h e chopped stalks in a small cider press i t was found possible t o remove 7 3 per cent of t h e original moisture. This extracted juice was somewhat colored b y dissolved organic matter, showed a specific gravity of I . 01 7 a n d contained I per cent potash. Since t h e original stalk contained approximately I per cent potash a n d 9 2 per cent water, t h e potash extracted b y pressing represents nearly 7 0 per cent of t h e total. Probably t h e most efficient method of recovery, however, is t o char t h e material. There are practically no difficulties encountered in this process. T h e nature of t h e material is a great aid in i t s own combustion. When heated, i t begins t o glow like charcoal a n d under a forced draft will burst into flame a n d support combustion, burning t o a n ash. I n t h e presence of a free supply of air, there is enough heat furnished after t h e first glow begins t o complete t h e charring without t h e further application of heat. This property can be made use of b y placing t h e chopped raw material over a grating i n a tall cylindrical heater, beneath which is a flame. T h e material in contact with t h e flame after drying begins t o char a n d with t h e forced draft arising from t h e height of t h e cylinder, will furnish heat from i t s own combustion sufficient t o dry t h e green material above it. Thus, b y feeding t h e raw material i n a t t h e t o p a n d drawing off t h e ash a t t h e bottom, a continuous yield of char can be obtained. This char can t h e n be extracted with distilled water b y a n y suitable means a n d t h e liquor evaporated t o dryness. T h e dried a n d ground salts are clean a n d white a n d only slightly hygroscopic. I n large cities where considerable amounts of these stalks are available, i t seems likely t h a t some scheme of collection or of segregation a t t h e garbage incinerators could be employed a t small expense. T h e subsequent recovery of t h e potash has already been shown t o be very simple a n d inexpensive, requiring no special or expensive apparatus. As s t a t e d above, one ton of fresh material should furnish in the neighborhood of $ 2 5 . 0 0 worth of salts a t t h e present market prices. This would seem t o justify a n expense for collection of about one cent per stalk (600 t o 700 stalks make a t o n ) , an$ still yield a fair margin of profit after deducting t h e nominal expense of t r e a t m e n t . The method of recovery lends itself readily t o small scale manufacture a n d would i n all probability be most practicable under such conditions. S U M MARY
I-Dried b a n a n a stalks contain as much potash as kainit a n d compare favorably with dried kelp as filler for commercial fertilizer. 11-Charring a n d leaching of b a n a n a stalks yield 2 7 lbs. of 90 per cent potassium carbonate per ton. 111-The possibility of collection a n d t r e a t m e n t on a small scale is suggested DIVISIONO F AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
Vol. 9 , No. a
THE RELATIVE AVAILABILITY OF ACID PHOSPHATE AND RAW ROCK PHOSPHATE IN INDIANA FIELD TESTS1 By S . D CONNER
Approximately 80 per cent of t h e soils of Indiana are i n need of phosphate fertilizers. T h e P u r d u e Experiment Station has been conducting field experiments testing t h e relative merits of acid phosphate a n d r a w rock phosphate since 1904. Up t o t h e end of t h e 1915 season 8 2 tests h a d been carried o u t , in which acid phosphate could be compared t o raw rock phosphate. These tests were made on six different experiment fields in various p a r t s of t h e s t a t e on a variety of soil types, a n d have been running from 2 to10 years. I n addition, tests were made in cooperation with farmers in five different counties on other soils. Table I presents a general s u m m a r y of all these experiments. These tests are believed t o give a fair comparison of t h e use of t h e t w o phosphates under average Indiana field conditions, with various crops a n d during different seasons on a large number of soil types. T h e t r e a t m e n t s h a v e been t h e same for t h e various plots under investigation. except t h a t some have h a d acid phosphate, some have h a d raw rock phosphate a n d some have h a d no phosphate. As a result of t h e 8 2 tests i t shows t h a t without question i t pays t o use acid phosphate on these soils. R a w rock phosphate has also shown a profit, b u t much smaller t h a n for acid phosphate. T h e acid phosphate contained 16 per cent available phosphoric acid a n d has been valued at $16.00 per t o n . T h e raw rock phosphate mas brown Tennessee rock containing 2 8 per cent total phosphoric acid a n d has been valued at $ 7 . 0 0 per ton. TABLEI-SUMMARYOF ALL EXPERIMENTS I N WHICH ACID PHOSPHATE AND RAW ROCKPHOSPHATE HAVRBEEN COMPARED (Average of Eighty two Tests with Various Crops in Indiana) 7 Averages per Acre per Year-Value . -.- - c-o.s.t. Phosof of Profit Crop or phate increase Phos( N o . of Tests) Phosphate Yield Increase (lbs.) (a) phate loss 43.04 bu. 5.49 bu. 190.5 $ 2 . 9 5 $1.52 $ 1 . 4 3 Corn (36). . , . Acid 0.66 Raw rock 42.20 bu. 4.65 bu. 532.0 2.52 1 .86 None 37.55 bu. Wheat (33). . . Acid 15.28bu. 4.31 bu. 190.5 4.63 1.52 3.11 Rawrock 12.88bu. 1.91bu. 5 3 2 . 0 2.12 1.86 0.26 None 10.97 bu. Legume hay Acid 2998 Ibs. 320 Ibs. 190.5 1.60 1.52 0.08 Raw rock 2773 lbs 9.5 lbs. 5 3 2 . 0 0.47 1 86 -1.39 (9) ivone 2678 ibs. Potatoes ( 4 ) , . , Acid 112.0 bu. 29.4 bu. 500 1 4 . 7 0 4 . 0 0 10.70 S.80 3.50 2.30 Raw rock 94.2 bii. 11.6 bu. 1000 None 82.6 bu.
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-~ ~~
Average ( 8 2 ) . . Acid (b) Raw rock
205 545
$ 4.06 $1.64 $ 2.42 2 . 2 9 1.91 0.38
of increase inciudes value of corn stover and wheat straw. ( 6 ) Average length of time tests have been running. 3.47 yrs.
( a ) Value
T h e following crop values were used i n calculating values of increase: Value (Per hu.)
.
Ear c o r n . , . , , . . . , , . . . . . $ 0 . 5 0 Wheat grain,, . . , , . . , . , , . , ! .OO Potatoes.. . , , . . . . . , , . , . 0 . 5 0
. .
-
Value (Per ton)
. ... . .. .. .. .. .. $ 32 .. 50 00 . . . ... . 10.00
Corn stover.. , Wheat straw.. . Legume h a y . . . .
This 1 Presented at 53rd Meeting of American Chemical Society. paper is based largely upon data published in Indiana Experiment Station Buil. 187, by A. T. Wiancko and S. D . Conner. Statistics of each crop and full particulars of the experiments may be found in that bulletin.
