KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

PROGRAMME: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY- CHEMISTRY

YEAR OF STUDY: THREE SEMESTER: TWO

COURSE UNIT: SST 3203: CERAMIC, CEMENT AND GLASS TECHNOLOGY

LECTURER’S NAME: MR. MUKOTA AZIZ

TASK: TEST

NAME: LUMANYIKA EDRINE

REG NO: 20/U/CTD/11286/GV

Question 1

a)

With use of well labelled Flow diagram discuss the difference in manufacturing
processes and uses of phosphate and superphosphates fertilizers and any environmental
effects.

Sulphuric acid phosphoric acid

Triple
SSP Phosphate rock Superphosphate

Sulphuric acid
Gypsum removal
Concentration

+ Ammonia Superphosphoric
DAP and MAP phosphoric acid Acid (SPA)
Evaporate
water

Ammonium phosphate

They are produced by reacting phosphoric acid with ammonia.

Triple super phosphate

They are prepared with phosphate rock that reacts with phosphoric acid (50wt%- 54%wt).

Normal superphosphate

They are prepared by reacting ground phosphate rock with 65%- 75% sulphuric acid to
produce a solid fertilizer material.

Uses of phosphate and superphosphates fertilizers

Superphosphates fertilizers
Promote legume growth

Increase nitrogen fixation symbiotically from the atmosphere.

Help support root, fruit and seed crops growth.

Phosphate fertilizers

Help in root development

Used in plant maturation

Help in seed development

Environmental effects of phosphate and superphosphates fertilizers

Effects on Water Pollution

Leaching, drainage or surface flow, for example, in most cultivated upland soils, mineral N is
likely to be oxidized to nitrate due to microbial activity. As a result, relatively high fractions
of the applied N may potentially be leached or removed from the root zone into the surface
and groundwater.

Major deleterious effect of the intensive use of fertilizers (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) is
water eutrophication. The primary factor responsible for eutrophication is phosphate.
Eutrophication result in increased growth of aquatic plants and algae in the water body
covering the whole water body leading to the loss of other aquatic living species like fishes
due to the reduced oxygen supply.

Effects on Air Pollution

High application rates of chemical fertilizer for enhancing crop production is generating
numerous harmful greenhouse gases, depleting the protective ozone layer hence exposing the
humans to harmful ultraviolet rays.

Effects on Soil Pollution

The over-use of chemical fertilizers can lead to soil acidification and soil crust thereby
reducing organic matter content, humus content, beneficial organisms, stunting plant growth,
can change the soil pH, increase pests, and even contribute to the release of greenhouse gases.
Repeated applications of chemical fertilizer may result in a toxic buildup of heavy metals
such as arsenic, cadmium, and uranium in the soil. These toxic heavy metals not only pollute
the soil but also get accumulated in food grains, fruits and vegetables.

b)

Write short notes on the following as applied to fertilizer manufacture;

i) Available phosphate

ii) Bone phosphate of lime

iii) Benefication

iv) Acidulation

Available phosphate

Available phosphate means the sum of the water soluble and citrate soluble phosphate.

On a fertilizer label, P2O5 is listed as “available phosphate.” The sum of the water-soluble
and citrate-soluble phosphate is considered to be the amount of phosphate available to the
plant, and is the amount guaranteed on the fertilizer label.

Bone phosphate of lime

Bone phosphate of lime is a calcium salt of phosphoric acid with the chemical
formula Ca3(PO4)2.

It is also known as tribasic calcium phosphate and Tricalcium phosphate (sometimes

abbreviated TCP). It is a white solid of low solubility. Most commercial samples of
"tricalcium phosphate" are in fact hydroxyapatite.

Benefication

Beneficiation is the technical term describing the industrial process of mechanically

separating minerals from each other.

No chemical changes to the minerals are made at this point in the mining process.

Acidulation

The process of treating a fertilizer source with an acid.

The most common process is treatment of phosphate rock with an acid (or mixture of acids)
such as sulfuric, nitric, or phosphoric acid.

Ca3(PO4)2(s) + 3H2SO4(l) --> 2H3PO4(l) + 3CaSO4(s)

Question 2

a)

Using Sodium oxide as an example explain how fluxes reduce the melting point of silica.
The effect of Na2O addition to silica is shown in figure below. The addition of Na2O
produces eutectics with very low melting temperature .

Figure 1: the SiO2-Na2O phase diagram

Addition of soda (Na2O) to silica dramatically reduce the melting temperature of silica by
forming eutectics.

Silica has a melting temperature of 1700oC. This is considerably higher than the temperatures
that are possible with charcoal and the blow pipe (800- 1200) 0C. But on addition of sodium
oxide, things change drastically as sodium bonds to the silicon atom breaking the ordered
network of silicon resulting in the shortening of bond length which reduces the melting
temperatures to around 1000oC which is possible to reach with charcoal and a blow pipe.
b)

Describe why bottles for alcoholic drinks need some form of internal treatment and
describe how this is carried out.

Internal treatment aims at removing the sodium from the glass surface preferably the inner
surface, thus lowering the content of cations in order to render it hydrolytically more
resistant.

The process is done by putting ammonium sulphate in the bottle which reacts with the
sodium cations in the glass and thus reducing the leaching of alkali components in the
alcohol. Sea alkali produces sodium sulphate which turns the bottle surface cloudy white and
can be washed away.

c)

Discuss heat of hydration as applied to cement technology

Heat of hydration is the amount of heat generated when water reacts in contact with cement
powder.

During of heat of hydration C3S and C2S react with water, calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) is
formed along with calcium hydroxide

2C3S + 6H C3S2H3 + 3Ca(OH)2

2C2S + 4H C3S2H3 + Ca(OH)2

calcium silicate hydrate is one the most important products of the hydration process and it
determines the good properties of cement.

calcium hydroxide is not a desirable product in concrete mas as it soluble in water and it gets
leached out thereby making concrete porous. Thus, decreasing durability of concrete.

Amount of heat released depends of cement composition, curing temperature, water to

cement ratio and cement fineness.

High temperatures resulting from heat of hydration may result in cracking of concrete and
consequent reduction in mechanical properties.
REFERENCES

Chandini, Randeep kumar, Ravendra kumar and Om Prakash (2019). The Impact of
Chemical Fertilizers on our Environment and Ecosystem.

Greidinger. Sym. on Fertilization and the Environment. (J.J. Mortwedt and A. Shaviv, Eds.).
Technion, Haifa, Israel, 1997.

https://www.engineeringenotes.com/engineering/glass/glasses-fabrication-forming-and-types-
material-science/34237