Bulk blending

Granular TSP (—6 + 16 mesh (1.19 to 3.35 mm dia)) is preferred for direct appHcation and is used in bulk blend fertilizers. A widely used slurry granulation process, the Dorr-OHver process, is illustrated in Figure 11. The ground rock is mixed with 38—49% P2 5 series of reaction vessels. 

Since about 1968, triple superphosphate has been far outdistanced by diammonium phosphate as the principal phosphate fertilizer, both in the United States and worldwide. However, production of triple superphosphate is expected to persist at a moderate level for two reasons (/) at the location of a phosphoric acid—diammonium phosphate complex, production of triple superphosphate is a convenient way of using sludge acid that is too impure for diammonium phosphate production and (2) the absence of nitrogen in triple superphosphate makes it the preferred source of phosphoms for the no-nitrogen bulk-blend fertilizers that frequendy are prescribed for leguminous crops such as soy beans, alfalfa, and clover. 

When 20% of the phosphoms was polyphosphate, the compounds ia the product were ia the ratio of 3.5 mole MAP per mole of the pyrophosphate. The principal use of the material was ia the production of suspension fertilizers. In this appHcation the polyphosphate content imparted improved storage properties to the suspensions. The granular soHd APP, however, also had excellent storage properties and was a good material for use ia bulk blends and for direct appHcation. 

Fig. 20. U.S. market share for several types of mixed fertilizer, where (—) represents bulk blends (-) ammoniation—granulation and ( ) fluids.

Table 12. Fertilizer Materials Used in Bulk Blends...

The flexibility of the bulk blending system and the close relationship with the farmer allow the bulk blender to provide a number of valuable supplementary services, such as adding herbicides, insecticides, micronutrients, or seeds to the blends bagging blends liming and sampling soil. Consultation services and custom appHcation can also be provided as can sale of anhydrous ammonia or nitrogen solution. 

G. Hoffmeister and G. H. Megar, "Use of Urea iu Bulk Blends," Proceedings of the 25th Finnual Meeting of the Fertiliser Industry Round Table, Washington, D.C., 1975, pp. 212-226. 

G. Hoffmeister, Particle Sisg Requirements for Bulk Blend Materials, report Z-146 Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 1982. 

Twenty-four horns after several barrels of the dyestuff were bulked, blended and repacked, spontaneous heating occurred. This was attributed to aerobic oxidation of excess sodium polysulfide used during manufacture. 

O. Miserque and E. Pirard. Segregation of the bulk blend fertilizers. Chemom. Intell. Lab. Syst., 74, 215-224 (2004). 

Mixed solid fertilizers can be made by either direct granulation methods (40%) or bulk blending (40%). Bulk blending is made by mechanical mixing of the separate granular intermediate materials. It is usually done in small plants near the point of use. This technique is employed because the fertilizer can be tailor-made to fit the exact requirements of the user. Fluid or liquid fertilizers (clear, suspension, and slurry) account for 20% of all NPK mixed fertilizers. 

The rate of tlie compaction process is another variable that should be considered throughout development, including scale-up. Typically, the development of a tablet formulation takes place on tablet presses that are relatively slow. The tableting rate is important to consider for several reasons. Blend flow is important to ensure bulk blend transfer into the tablet press (hopper) and consistent die fiU. Variation or difficulty in the bulk flow and die fill can contribute to tablet weight variation. As the compaction rate increases, the blended material must be able to... 

This chapter is organized as follows. Section 6.2 is concerned with experiments on binary block copolymer/homopolymer blends, Section 6.3 deals with experiments on ternary blends containing a block copolymer and in Section 6.4 experiments on binary blends of block copolymers are reviewed. Theory for the corresponding type of blend is discussed successively in Sections 6.5 to 6.7. Finally, experiments on thin films are discussed in Section 6.8, separately from the work on bulk blends, in keeping with earlier chapters. 

---