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The fixation of nitrogen
May, i917.1
CURRENT ToPIcs.
665
the solutions has fully as great an influence on the electric activity developed as the nature of the metallic minerals, and that in general acid and oxidizing solutions give the highest potentials and alkaline and reducing solutions the lowest. Economic geologists have long recognized that the solutions in the upper oxidized portion of many ore deposits are acid and oxidizing, while farther down they become neutral or alkaline. W h e t h e r such variations and the electric differences dependent upon them are sufficient to cause an appreciable electric current to flow from the upper part of an ore deposit to a lower part or vice versa is still an open question. Surely such action, if it exists, is of relatively minor importance in controlling ore deposition, the main factor being the actual movement of metal-bearing solutions from one place to another. Measurements of electric potential can, however, be quickly and easily made and may prove very useful in indicating the direction and intensity of the chemical reactions of which they are one expression. Th e Fixation of Nitrogen. J. E. BUCnER. (The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 9, No. 3, P- 233, March, I917.)--A process for the fixation of nitrogen has been developed, differing primarily from all those now in commercial use in fixing nitrogen, in the form of alkali cyanides instead of in the form of oxides of nitrogen, calcium cyanimide, nitrides, or ammonia. It is further characterized by operating at very moderate temperatures, such as 90o to 95 °° C., so that it is not dependent upon cheap electric power, and, because of this moderate temperature, it can be operated i n iron retorts. It is of the utmost simplicity, uses iron, which is the cheapest metallic catalyzer, and does not require pure materials, such as nitrogen, but can use air or producer gas just as well. It requires no special apparatus and can be operated at once with what can be found in practically every manufacturing community. It does not require skilled labor to operate it, and it is pre6minently a method that can be installed quickly in an emergency for the preparation of cyanides, ammonia, and nitric acid. Th e process is based upon the property that nitrogen will combine with an alkali and carbon in the presence of iron as a catalyst and produce cyanides. T h a t is, by heating a mixture of carbonate of soda and powdered coke in a furnace and passing air over the mixture, cyanide of soda is produced with the iron uncombined. No electric power is needed, no heavy outlay, no costly materials; the whole process can be carried out anywhere at apparently very low cost. By leading waste gas (carbon dioxide) from a furnace into a solution of cyanide of soda, urea is produced, a compound which bids fair to yield remarkable results as a fertilizer. The cyanide of soda under influence of an electric current VOL. I83, No. ~o97--No. 47
666
CL'R~ENT TOPICS.
[J. F. I.
separates into metallic sodium, for which there is a large demand in chemical industry, and cyanogen. The cyanogen is rapidly absorbed in hydrochloric acid and becomes oxamide. This contains nearly one-third nitrogen in combination and is nearly insoluble, so that it would not be washed away from the soil by rains, and it also should make an ideal fertilizer. The use of urea or oxamide as fertilizer has never been considered in the past on account of its cost. Earth, Sand-clay, and Gravel Roads. ANON. (B,tllctin No. 463, U. S. Department of Agricu:lture.)--Nearly 2,4oo,ooo miles of the two and a half million miles of public roads in the United States are of earth, sand-clay, or gravel, according to recent statistics gathered by the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Roads of these materials are therefore of predominant importance in most communities of the country and probably will remain so for many years. For this reason the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering has issued as Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 463 a comprehensive discussion of the materials, methods of construction, and maintenance for the three types. Most roads are located originally as earth roads, the bulletin points out. In such location work the fact that the road eventually may develop into an important highway should be kept constantly in mind and routes should be chosen which will not have to be radically changed, perhaps at great expense, at some future time. The tendency in many rural communities to locate all new roads along land lines has been responsible for much waste. The importance of grade, drainage, and width of roads, as well as the materials of which they are built, is emphasized in the publication, and the machinery and tools used in constructing roads of the different materials are described. The necessity for adequate maintenance is brought out, and in this connection directions are given for the making and use of road drags. Typical specifications for the construction of roads from earth, sand-clay, and gravel are included in an appendix.
PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PHILADELPHIA
CURRENT ToPIcs.
665
the solutions has fully as great an influence on the electric activity developed as the nature of the metallic minerals, and that in general acid and oxidizing solutions give the highest potentials and alkaline and reducing solutions the lowest. Economic geologists have long recognized that the solutions in the upper oxidized portion of many ore deposits are acid and oxidizing, while farther down they become neutral or alkaline. W h e t h e r such variations and the electric differences dependent upon them are sufficient to cause an appreciable electric current to flow from the upper part of an ore deposit to a lower part or vice versa is still an open question. Surely such action, if it exists, is of relatively minor importance in controlling ore deposition, the main factor being the actual movement of metal-bearing solutions from one place to another. Measurements of electric potential can, however, be quickly and easily made and may prove very useful in indicating the direction and intensity of the chemical reactions of which they are one expression. Th e Fixation of Nitrogen. J. E. BUCnER. (The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 9, No. 3, P- 233, March, I917.)--A process for the fixation of nitrogen has been developed, differing primarily from all those now in commercial use in fixing nitrogen, in the form of alkali cyanides instead of in the form of oxides of nitrogen, calcium cyanimide, nitrides, or ammonia. It is further characterized by operating at very moderate temperatures, such as 90o to 95 °° C., so that it is not dependent upon cheap electric power, and, because of this moderate temperature, it can be operated i n iron retorts. It is of the utmost simplicity, uses iron, which is the cheapest metallic catalyzer, and does not require pure materials, such as nitrogen, but can use air or producer gas just as well. It requires no special apparatus and can be operated at once with what can be found in practically every manufacturing community. It does not require skilled labor to operate it, and it is pre6minently a method that can be installed quickly in an emergency for the preparation of cyanides, ammonia, and nitric acid. Th e process is based upon the property that nitrogen will combine with an alkali and carbon in the presence of iron as a catalyst and produce cyanides. T h a t is, by heating a mixture of carbonate of soda and powdered coke in a furnace and passing air over the mixture, cyanide of soda is produced with the iron uncombined. No electric power is needed, no heavy outlay, no costly materials; the whole process can be carried out anywhere at apparently very low cost. By leading waste gas (carbon dioxide) from a furnace into a solution of cyanide of soda, urea is produced, a compound which bids fair to yield remarkable results as a fertilizer. The cyanide of soda under influence of an electric current VOL. I83, No. ~o97--No. 47
666
CL'R~ENT TOPICS.
[J. F. I.
separates into metallic sodium, for which there is a large demand in chemical industry, and cyanogen. The cyanogen is rapidly absorbed in hydrochloric acid and becomes oxamide. This contains nearly one-third nitrogen in combination and is nearly insoluble, so that it would not be washed away from the soil by rains, and it also should make an ideal fertilizer. The use of urea or oxamide as fertilizer has never been considered in the past on account of its cost. Earth, Sand-clay, and Gravel Roads. ANON. (B,tllctin No. 463, U. S. Department of Agricu:lture.)--Nearly 2,4oo,ooo miles of the two and a half million miles of public roads in the United States are of earth, sand-clay, or gravel, according to recent statistics gathered by the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Roads of these materials are therefore of predominant importance in most communities of the country and probably will remain so for many years. For this reason the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering has issued as Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 463 a comprehensive discussion of the materials, methods of construction, and maintenance for the three types. Most roads are located originally as earth roads, the bulletin points out. In such location work the fact that the road eventually may develop into an important highway should be kept constantly in mind and routes should be chosen which will not have to be radically changed, perhaps at great expense, at some future time. The tendency in many rural communities to locate all new roads along land lines has been responsible for much waste. The importance of grade, drainage, and width of roads, as well as the materials of which they are built, is emphasized in the publication, and the machinery and tools used in constructing roads of the different materials are described. The necessity for adequate maintenance is brought out, and in this connection directions are given for the making and use of road drags. Typical specifications for the construction of roads from earth, sand-clay, and gravel are included in an appendix.
PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PHILADELPHIA