No. 744,128. Patented November 17, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMERSON H. STRICKLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING TRSODUM PHOSPHATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,128, dated November 17, 1903.
Application filed January 21, 1903, Serial No. 139,977, (No specimens.)
To all, whon, it nagy concern: phate is complete. This reaction 1may be ex
Beit known that I, EMERSONH. STRICKLER, pressed thus
a citizen of the United States of America, re Caa(PO.)+6NaHSO=8CaSO4+2H3PO,--8NaSO4.
siding at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland,
have invented a certain new and useful Proc This solution consists of phosphoric acid (ob
ess for the Manufacture of Trisodium. Phos tained as a result of the decomposition of the
phate, of which the following is a specification. calcium phosphate by the sulfuric acid of the
The invention herein set forth provides a niter cake) and sulfate of soda, (originally con
new process for the manufacture of trisodium. tained in the niter cake.) Calcium sulfate is 55
O phosphate (commonly called “tribasic phos obtained as an insolvent residue. The liquor
phate of soda,”) which has certain features of is filtered from this residue and the carbona
novelty and advantage. ceous material, such as coal, is added and the
At the present time trisodium phosphate is mixture concentrated to a pasty consistency.
made from calcium phosphate in the following This mixture, consisting of sodium sulfate,
ts inmanner: The calcium phosphate is digested phosphoric acid, and carbonaceous material,
an equivalent quantity of Sulfuric acid, is then furnaced in a reverberatory or other
producing crude phosphoric acid. To this convenient form of furnace until it ceases to
sodium carbonate is added to alkaline reac give or gives only a slight test for Sulfate.
tion, the disodium salt being formed. Finally, This furnace product is dissolved in hot water
2 a slight excess of caustic soda over that re and purified by crystallization. The reac
quired to form the trisodium salt is added tions in the furnace are somewhat compli
and the solution is allowed to crystallize. It cated; but the total one consists in the forma
is to be noted that in this process three of the tion of triSodium phosphate with a small
crude materials used are manufactured prod amount of sodium sulfid, sodium carbonate, o
25 ucts-viz., Sulfuric acid, Sodium carbonate, The indications are that simultaneously
and caustic soda. In my process I Substi sodium sulfate is reduced to sodium sulfid
tute for these three manufactured products and the orthophosphoric acid to some degree
a single material, niter cake, which has coin changed into the pyro and meta, forms. The
monly been considered a waste product from phosphoric acid whatever its form at the 75
30 the manufacture of sulfuric and nitric acids. time of the formation of the sulfid is neutral
With this miter cake I use calcium phosphate ized by it, forming the sodium salts of phos
and a carbonaceous material, such as coal. phoric acid or its hydrates. As a result of
In general terms my process consists in the operation taking place in the presence of
digesting the calcium phosphate in the form burning carbonaceous matter the sodium sul
35 of a phosphate rock in a water solution of the fid left over after the neutralization is largely
niter cake until the reaction is complete. converted to sodium carbonate. The mixed
To the liquor obtained by this reaction the sodium phosphates fuse with this sodium car
carbonaceous materialis added and the mate bonate and are thus converted to trisodium.
rials are furnaced, producing the trisodium phosphate. The final result of the furnace
phosphate. reaction is as described.
In detail my process is as follows: Calcium The proportions used depend to some ex
phosphate, preferably in the form of a high tent on the quality of the calcium phosphate,
grade phosphate rock, is digested in a water niter cake, and coal and must be arrived at
solution of the niter cake in proper propor empirically in each case to get the best re 90
45 tions until the reaction between the acid radir sults. I give as an example the following:
cal of the niter cake and the calcium phos working with a high grade of Tennessee phos
 2 744,128
phate rock and a fair grade of niter cake and 2. The treatment of calcium phosphate with
coal six parts niter cake, three parts phos- a solution of niter cake, concentrating the so- 5
phate rock, and two parts coal. lution thus obtained, furnacing it in the pres
The trisodium phosphate being produced ence of a carbonaceous material, and dissolv
5 according to the above process, di and mono ing the furnaced product in Water and allow
sodium phosphates can readily be produced ing it to crystallize.
by the addition of crude phosphoric acid. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 2 o
What I claim as new, and desire to secure in presence of two witnesses.
by Letters Patent, is- : -
to 1. The treatment of calcium phosphate with EMERSON H. STRICKLER.
a solution of niter cake and furnacing the so- Witnesses:
lution thus obtained in the presence of a car- W. D. GILMAN,
bonaceous material. C. A. JEFFERY.