Climax Chemical Company

Chung-Kong Chow

Curtis W Cannon

The process of treating insoluble phosphate ore in the form of calcium phosphate, such as phosphate rock or bone phosphate, at near ambient conditions with sulfur trioxide or sulfuric acid as reactants in the presence of a liquid anhydrous dispersion media of, preferably, sulfur trioxide, sulfur dioxide, or their mixtures in liquid form so that the contacting of the ore is made in the form of an anhydrous slurry, to make the phosphorous content available as a nutrient or as phosphoric acid, and subsequently separating the dispersion media from the contacted ore preceding aqueous contact or extraction of the phosphorous constituent. The presence of sulfur dioxide in the anhydrous dispersion media is desirable to minimize operational difficulties associated with the proximity of the vaporization and solidification points of sulfur trioxide. The process may be carried out with the sulfur trioxide and sulfur dioxide as dispersants as long as sulfuric acid content is limited to the amount required for reaction with the phosphate material. Sulfur trioxide can serve as both reactant and dispersant. The contact of the ore in the presence of the excesses of anhydrous liquid permits efficient contact with the ore as a slurry. Sulfuric acid may be formed 'in situ' from the sulfur trioxide associated with the ore upon aqueous contact or extraction after the sulfur trioxide treatment and removal of the excess required for reaction.

Process of producing phosphates and phosphoric acid

The process of reacting a metallic halide (which metal is sodium, potassium or calcium) with sulfur trioxide including dispersing the metallic halide in the presence of an excess of sulfur trioxide or sulfur dioxide, as a dispersant, to enable handling the mixture as a slurry, completing the reaction to form the desired metallic halogen sulfonate, decomposing the metallic halogen sulfonate before or after an intermediate step to remove excess sulfur trioxide and sulfur dioxide, using combustion of sulfur to supply the heat to vaporize excess sulfur trioxide and sulfur dioxide present, and to decompose the metallic halogen sulfonate to yield the halogen, sulfur dioxide, and the sulfate of the metal, separating the metallic sulfate from the gaseous products, and separating the halogen from the sulfur trioxide and sulfur dioxide in the gaseous products by extractive distillation, or alternately treating organic material under anhydrous conditions with the metallic halogen sulfonate or its decomposition products, to halogenate or oxidize the organic material.

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Hong Kong, China

Chung-Kong Chow