OF NATIONAL IMPORT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3195, 20 September 1917, Page 9

OF NATIONAL IMPORT

4 NITRATES FROM THE AIR INTERESTING PAPER ON A GREAT PROJECT Before the Wellington Industrial Association on Monday evening, Mr. J. Orchiston, Chief Telegraph Engineer to the Government, read a most interesting paper dealing with a big project to extract nitrates from the air on lar to the schemes now in operation iu Norway, Germany, Italy, Amorica, and, last of all, in England. The enormousimportance of the subject can scarcely be realised until it is thoroughly investigated. It might be sufficient to say that thero is an -unlimited demand in the world for nitrates for agricultural purposes, and that were it not for German activities in this field of scientific endeav-. our bTTg would long since have been deprived of the wherewithal for the manufacture of nitrio acid, and the war would have been shortened, considerably. Mr. Orchiston further points oat that with tRb water-power available at the Bowen Tails, nitrates could be produced more cheaply in Milford Sound than in any other part of the world, for thero is ample water-power, and plenty of draught for shipping in perpetually smooth water. Mr. Orchiston's paper read as follows:— In the Beginning. "In 1755 Lord Cavendish and Mr. Priestley, an English chemist, discovered that by means of electric- sparks in a glass tube, nitrous vapours could be produced. In 1902 Dr. D. R. Lovejoy and Charles S. Bradley published the results of their experiments at the Niagara .Palis iu the production of nitrogen from the air. They used IS h.p. of electric energy, whioh cost them «l the rate of 18 dollars per h.p. per annum. Although, thia oan- only bo classified as :i laboratory experiment, they demonstrated the fact that given cheap power tho fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by electricity was a feasible proposition. A Practical Scheme, , "Shortly after Lovejoy and Bradley's experiments, two Scandinavian inventors, Professor Birkeland and Doctor Eyde, of Norway, developed a practicable scheme, and by 1911 they had some two hundred thousand horse-power harnessed at tho Notodden and Rjukan Palls. At that period the demands so far exceeded tho production that they had orders on hand for all they could produce • for twelve months ahead. It was then decided to enlist fresh capital to dnplicato the factory at Rjukan. The Germans were at one time interested, but the Scandinavians would not let them have control, and as the Norwegian Parliament parsed laws having that effect they withdrew: At the same, time Lord Rovolstoke was asked • by French banks to appoint an expert to report on tho process. The late Dr. S. P. Thompson, an. electrical engineer, was chosen, and his favourable opinion caused the French to assist. They have had every reason to be satisfled with tho investment, and their cooperation is fortunato for the Allies, "The duplication of tho Rjukan plant, which was commenced before the war, was completed last year. Tho power developed on tho Bjuian Biver now exoeeds 800,000 h.p., wholly devoted to the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by means of tho direct aro process. Before the War, ''Before the war there were a few factories in Austria, Germany, France, and Italy, whore water power oould be obtained at moderate cost. None of these, however,' compared in size or output to that of the Norwegian, factories. This is, no doubt, to be accounted for by the fact that these countries do not possess any large water-powers whioh could be so cheaply harnessed as. those of Norway. ')"•■■'.', "Immediately prior to tho war, .Germany, no doubt recognising that in spite of her submarines and Zeppelins she might be \ cut ; off from the Chile nitrates, set about-the establishm.mt of immense works at Biterfeld, near Berlin, for the, fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, using a poor class of lignite of low calorific value for generating the necessary pbwor to diive the electric dynamos. ■ Some hundreds of thousands of horse-power are now being generated, and, according to tho accounts received in the United States'' before relations were broken - off, ho Mess) than (100,000 tone of cyahamide, 500,000 tons of nitrate, ' by means of tho Haber process, and -400,000 tons from tho gas retorts, a total of 1,500,000 tons of nitrogen compounds, were then being produced in Germany, : - ■ A Groat Point. "It is, therefore, very ' evident that but for tho -electric, fixation of nitrogen Germany would havo been unable to and sufficient nitrogen to moot her enormous demand for the manufacture , of explosives, and hence the war would in all probability have been over before now"Prior to tho war Germany was tho largest importer of Chile nitrates, taking no less than 900,000 tons per annum. Tho United States was next, with 600,000 tons,' while Great Britain only imported about one-sixth the., quantity that Germany did. The total export of Chile nitrate was then about 2,000,000 tons per annum, now it exceeds 3,000,000, in spite of the. fact that the Central Powers havo ceased importations. Before the war it was estimated that two-thuds of the Chile exports were Titilised_ as fertilisers, and one-third for explosives and' other chemical works. Since tho war these conditions have been reversed. I may-here mention that Chile levies an export tax of some &% 10s. per tpn, and mu6t, therefore, be deriving a revenue at the present time of some seven or eight millions from this source alone, "Germany only produced sdme 20,000 tons of nitrate from the air jn 1913, whjoh grow to 100,000 tons during 19M, the first year of the war. After the Battle of tho Marno she realised that her re'seive3 of nitrogen might not be equal'to her needs, in spilo of ft wind, fall of 250,000 tons found in Antwerp. Every endeavour was then made to expedite the completion of fresh factories, with tho result that she is now turning out 1,100,000 tons of atmospheric nitrates ,per annum. Comparative Cost. • "Tho power produced at the Biterfeld .works cost J& ss. 7Jd. per h.p. per annum, which is a low figure for eleotric power produced by steam. The cost of the hydro-electric power in Norway ranges from Bs. at Rjukan No. 1 to 2te. 7d. at Notodden, per h.p. per year. ' It will, therefore,' be noted that the cheap steam power doyoloped in Germany docs not compare favourably with tho Norwegian water-power schemes. "It has often been argued by engineers and financiers, especially in the United States and in Great Britain, that waterpowers have little advantage over firstclass steam plants', where coal can be obtained at moderate cost. Thi6 holds good whero expensive races, dams, and pipo lines have to be provided, whioh, in addition to a high capital outlay, may involve heavy maintenance charges for the upkeep of the races, renewal of pipes, etc. In most cases first-class water powers are located in mountainous regions far Temovcd ' from close settlement. It is trno that tho modern development in the electric transmission of power has enabled many water- : powers to bo utilised which were other, wise of no practicable value owing to their inaccessiblo locations. Such" elco. trio transmission has its limits, however, largely from an S. s. d. point of view. The greater tho distanco, tho more expensive such transmission becomes, not only proportionately according to tho added length of the transmission line, but the greater tho distanco tho greater tho electrical difficulties. "Beverting to the relative costs of tho Norwegian and Gorman power plants, these two systems are probably the cheapest of their kind, and among tho largest power stations iu tho world. AVo havo therefore a clear outline of tho relative costs of both water and steam power under the most favourable conditions obtainable in- each case. It will bo observed that the power prodncod by the Gorman steam plant at Bitorfeld is over fifteen times more costly than that of the Norwegian water-power at Rjukan. Hitherto the two principal methods of fixing atmospheric nitrogen has been, first, that adopted by tho Norwegians, oalled tho direct (ire process for the production of a dilute; nitric acid, 'which I will explain shortly, and tho 'oft«r the miiaufu/o'ure of oyaxamide.

1 which process was accidentally disoover- ' od by Professor Adolph Prank and Br. N. tiaro, two Germans, while endeavouring to produce a cheap form of cyanide so largely used in mining. Briefly, cyanamido consists of ground calcium carbide impregnated with puro nitrogen gas, obtained by liquefying the r.ir under a pressure of some two hundred atmosphores. Tho process involves a considerable amount of labour in addition to tho cost of coke and lime for tho raanufac. turo of tho calcium carbide. Tho finish, ed product contains about 18 per cent of nitrogen. "Under this system the amount of 3 nitrogen fixed is four times as much for ' any given power as compared *o tho " direct aro process mostly in voguo in ' Norway.' Hence the Gorman preference 1 for tho oyanamido process, seeing that • with them power is costly as compared • to Norway, while labour .in Germany is f cheap. It may bo said of the direct aro ." process that it is a glutton .for power, 1 and unless the power can be obtained in B large quantity'and at low cost such ' method would not be a payablo proposi--1 tion. Tho principal advantage o£ tho '■' direct arc process is its great economy " of labour as compared to tho gross value : of the output. As far as I oan at present ». judge the. value of the product should • exceed JCIOOO per annum for each man 1 employed at the works. 3 New loaland's Advantage. ' "It is a recognised fact that New Zeal land cannot successfully compete in the world's markets in the supply of goods ' which depend upon labour as the chief item in their production. Only thoso products which emanate from the natural resources of the country figure large- '• ly in our exports, such as wool, frozen 1 meat, butter, cheese, gold,' flax, kauri • gum, and timber. Although at one time - the Dominion was a large exporter of 1 grain, she is now! an importer, largely • duo to labour conditions, as. although 1 the gross return is much less it is found i to be safer to devoto the land to raising 0 sheep for their wool and mutton.. Conf tinuous cropping will, of course, also - exhaust tho storcd-up nitrogen in the i soil. "Tho point I wish to emphasise is that J in tho manufacture of calcium nitrate - by tho direct arc process the amount of •labour involved in comparison to tho value of tho output is less than that pertaining to any of our exports, exoepting 3 that of wool, and it may e-veii run pool for first place. The whole question {• therefore hinges on. whether wo can harness water-power in sufficiently largo i units and at bedrock cost for both cupi- , tal outlay and. annual upkeep. j! "I may set yc-ur minds at rest m so ' far as tho North Island is concerned by 1 stating there is no water-power in this : island of sufficient magnitude combined ' with cheapness iu developing and facility for transport of the manufactured I! article which would bo of value for the purpose. Tho only water-powers which comply with all requirements are those I located on the West Coast of Otago, and in so far as the facilities for cheap in- ; stallation and cbnvonienco to deep water ' harbours are concerned they aro unique, 1 and I doubt if they can be surpassed ? in any other part of the.world. 1 "The energy going to waste in the west J of Otago approximates two million horse- •" power. If the outlet of Lake.' To Anau ' was diverted to George' Sound by tucawi " of a five-mile tunnel, no less thin threequarters of a million horse-power could • be obtained from this source alone. (A • conservative estimate given by the lote •' Mr. Hay, Chief Engineer of the Public ' Works Department.) Tho initial capital J per h.p.- developed would be low, and in all probability tho annual charges would not exceed the Norwegian record, with the added adraritaeo that To Anau power would be delivered alongside a j deep-water harbour, whereas.the Norweg--1 ian power is eighty-six miles inland, in- ' volving l.ho transport of goods by tiro • sections of railway lino separated by ferry ' steamers, and finally conveyed by email • river steamers to the port of Skien. t The Cost at Niagara. i "I may hero mention that the hydroelectric development at Niagara has . cost 'about ,£2O for each horse-power in- ] i stalled, whereas tho To Anau , power 3 would probably be nearer <£5. J j "Tho power sold at Niagara during f tho year 1909 realised M 12s. sd. per - h.p. for that utilised in chemical works, - such as tho manufacture of calcium carr bide, carborundum, etc." This figure is - too costly for tho production of almos- - pheric nitrogen by moans of tho direct faro process. To better illustrate this, approximately ono and a. half horsci. power is required night and day continus ously for a whole year to produce a ton 0 of calcium nitrate. The Niagara charges -" for power alono would therefore amount i, to about .65 Bs. Bd.—a figure in excess of n tho wholo estimated cost of producing a - ton of calcium nitrate at tho Bowen i Mis, Milford Sound. On tho Canadian side of tho falls, however, «,000 lons of cyanamido wore turned,out last year. fc " A Now Zealand Project. i "Perhaps I shonld here mention tho s fact that a syndicate was formed' in Dun- .-' odin some months ago for the purpose of 1 prosecuting tho manufacture of atmospheric nitrogen and other clectro-chemi--9 cal productions. Application wag made - to the Government for the power con- .-' tained in the Bowen. River, Milford. Ii Sound, but so far consent has been withy held. The Bowen can bo cheaply harr nesaed by means of a comparatively short f incline tunnel, and would produce from 9 15,000 to 30,000 horse-power. It is com , veniently situated alongside deep wator, 1 and has all tho elements necessary ior s the establishment of a successful factory s on a moderate scale. There are also a s number of other possible powers, ranging a from ton to twenty thousand horse-power, 0 within five to fifteen miles, which could . a|l be economically conveyed to the faes tory by electric transmission if required. , Tho Bowen alone has sufficient capacity - to produce JCIOO,OOO worth of products per i annum. It is therefore obvious that it >• would bo in, the best interests, of tho 9 Dominion to encourage such an industry , instead of allowing the water to run aim- , lessly to waste, as hitherto. As the s Bowen only represents from 1 to U per t cent, of the total. energy available in b the west of Otago, it will be seen that • there are vast possibilities in this region. . It is only a matter of time when it will - all bo utilised, producing, many million , of- pounds' worth of useful products anr ; nually. As an indication of wjjat can J bo done, the output of the two Norwegian factories at Notodden and Ejukan in 1911 (the year, during which they held orders for twelve months ahead) was t 90,000 tons of calcium nitrates, 12,000 tons r of sodium nitrate, and iOOO tons of ami raoninm nitrate.. The calcium nitrate f was being sold, c.i.f. English ports, at f £1 15s. per ton, and .the ammonium ni- . trate at about £20." Allowing .£2 a ton t for transport charges across tho lakes, i rivers, and two separate lines of rail, in i addition to the ocean freight, this left, - say, .65 Ids. and £17 15s. per ton.respectively, representing -a net total of some n iEG3O',OOO at the factories. This provided 1 a good dividend and induced them to - find fresh capital for duplicating their - principal factory as already indicated. 3 ' A Hundred Per Cent. "At tho present prices for calcium ' carbide in New Zealand the Bowen ' power would easily pay 100 por cent. i dividend and carry forward a substantial , balance, but of course things aro altogether abnormal just now; nevertheless 3 that would bo a vory profitable side-lino 1 under any conditions, seeing that the . cost of tho power would be only about , ono-sixlh of the Niagara power, where . so much calcium canbido is manufnetur--3 ed. . "Although nitrogen is one of the most , prevalent elements, forming over 78 per . cent, of the air we breathe, tho remain- . dor being oxygon, it is very elusive, t and therefore difficult to capture and imj jprison in a marketable form. Foods may , vary, and so do explosives, bftt when f analysed there is ever present ono chemical element in both, and that is nitro--3 gon. It is true thero aro other con- , stituonUi, possibly in greater proportion, 5 so why singloout nitrogen? Becauso in ) Nature's workshop and in man's muni--3 tion factory nitrogen is the scarcest of - tho indipensablo materials. Tho others l aro just as essential, but they can bo - obtained more onsily. The supply of 1 nitrogen is usually tho first to give out, f and whan that happens tho production J comes to a. standstill cither in tho soil t or tho factory. Experience has shown t that land holding thrce-tonths of ono per 1 cent, of nitrogen will prove very fruit--1 fill, other things boing oqual. It may ' produce from thirty to forty bushels of ' wheat to the acre. Soil containing two- > tenths of one per cent, will probably bo ' good for a.boul twenty-livo >)iißhnlß jmr • acre; if one-tenth of ono per cent., it

may produce fifteen bushels; but if this essential plaut food be as low as onetwentieth of one per cent., the ground will be too poor to produce a profitable crop. In so far as the North Island is concerned, thero is not so much need for this fertiliser as in agricultural countries. As a rulo virgin lands contain a fair percentage of '.his element. The Value of Nitrates. "In tho early 'eighties a yield of- 130 bushels of potatoes per acre was considered a prime- crop in Germany, but by 1911 tlie application of Chile nitrates had made it possible to count upon an output of 210 bushels per acre. Because the' same course was not followed by the ifarmors in Jtussia, AustroHungary, France, and Italy, with similar, if not better, soil, they have not improved upon their crops of thirty or forty years ago. On the other hand, Great Britain, Belgium, and Holland, profiting by Germany's example, were able to increase their production from 50 to 100 per cent. Experience has shown that Qvery pound of nitrogen rightly applied to the soil increases the yield of wheal:, rye,- harloy, or oats by about 201b. of grain and •f-Olb. of straw. In the case of potatoes, one pound of nitrogen will better the yield by about 851b. i Always in Demand. ■ ".Hitherto nitrogen fertilisers have not been much in demand in New Zealand. This is accounted for by tho fact that virgin soils are not so deficient iu this, olemont as groumd which has had a numer of crops taken off it. Another reason, and a very good one, is the fact that Chile nitrates have been too costly as compared to phosphatic manure. It is estimated that calcium nitrate can be produced at tho Bowen and sold to the farmers within the Dominion at about one-half the price previously charged for Chile sodium nitrate. It should not be overlooked that when nitrate of soda, the natural product of Chile, gives wp its nitrogen to plants sodium is left behind, and may be deleterious to tho soil. On tho other hand, electrically-produced fortilisars containing calcium leave only lime, in the soil, which is usually'advantageous. . A Twenty- Million Dollar Volo. "Before closing this paper it should be mentioned that Professor ifolm 33. Bucher, of Brown University, New lork, has brought out a, patent for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen without tho aid of electricity. It seems to be a modification of tho Haber process, largely used in Germany. Tho substance of his discovery is that nitrogen will conibino with an alkali and carbon in the presence of iron as a catalyst producing the cyanide. Reduced lo concrete terms,, this means that ho mixes soda ash and powdered iron with powered coke; upon heating this mixture in an ordinary furnace and running air over it, tho result is cyanide of soda, leaving the iron uncombined. It is obvious that. Soda ash, powdered iron and coke cannot be obtained for nothing, and that- coal must bo consumed ui healing the furnace. I am, therefore, inclined to think that tho Norwegians with their cheap power will not be greatly alarmed, nor will tho promoters of the Bowen Falls scheme. The chief advantage offliis discovery isthatafaotory can be quickly installed and may be producing nitrogen before the surveys of a large hydro-electric scheme are oomplebd. There is an enormous demand for nitrogen in the United States at present for explosives, as well as for fertilisers, and it appears that tho Government is devoting four million dollars for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, possibly adopt- - ing Professor Bucher's. scheme. A twonty million dollar vote was passed some time ago for the establishment of a hydro-electrkV factory for nitrogen fixation but from tho latest accounts the mittee were still considering the question of n. site. A great deal of/ preliminary survey work is involved before the best selection can bo fixed up°.n-" ■ _ <it the conclusion of his illuminative paper the chairman (Mr. P. J. Evans) and other members gave Mr Orchiston an ovation, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to him for tho vcrj- interesting : information which had been afforded, and 1 tho hope was expressed that ,the project i would sco fruition as soon as circum- ; stances permitted.