Phosphate

“ According to these observations apatite is the most insoluble form of lime phosphate, while artificial basic phosphate is the most soluble. Among the very soluble phosphates, however, are the bones of animals, both fresh and old. Burnt bones, however, are more soluble than bones still containing organic matter. Not only are the organic phosphates extremely soluble in water saturated with carbon dioxid, but also in water which contains common salt or chlorid of ammonium. ”

“ The amount of oxide of iron and alumina in raw phosphates is of great importance, as phosphates containing these bodies are liable to cause superphosphate to “go back” or form what is called “reverted” phosphate, the percentage of “soluble phosphate” being reduced thereby. For this reason many of the older supplies have been replaced by newer and better ones. Florida rock phosphate of high grade contains 75 to 78% of phosphate of lime, and Florida land pebble phosphate about 70%. ”

“ In this strange association of inorganic salts with human temperaments, the role of iron phosphate as a producer of courage is particularly interesting. What would a modern philosopher conclude if he followed the development of insight into the composition and function of complex phosphate compounds in organisms?
From Inorganic to Organic Phosphates
By the middle of the 19th century, the source of phosphorus in natural phosphates and the chemistry of its oxidation products had been established. ”

“ When phosphoric acid is added to a strong solution of phosphate of zirconium, and the mixture, after concentration, is exposed to a low temperature, prismatic crystals are deposited. These, after being strongly heated to expel their basic water, are pure metaphosphate of sodium. From the solution of this salt in cold water, a solution of pure metaphosphoric acid may be obtained, as above, by means of nitrate or acetate of lead and sulphuretted hydrogen. ”

“ It is the chief mineral constituent of bones of animals, and bone ash is therefore nearly pure calcium phosphate.
Preparation. Phosphorus is now manufactured from bone ash or a pure mineral phosphate by heating the phosphate with sand and carbon in an electric furnace. The materials [Pg 240] are fed in at M (Fig. 70) by the feed screw F. The phosphorus vapor escapes at P and is condensed under water, while the calcium silicate is tapped off as a liquid at S. The phosphorus obtained in this way is quite impure, and is purified by distillation.
Fig. 70
Explanation of the reaction. ”

“ The next case is devoted to the Phosphates, or metals mixed with phosphoric acid, including crystals of the phosphate of iron from Fernando Po, Bavaria, and Cornwall; phosphates of manganese; phosphate of copper; yellow and green uranite; phosphates of alumina, including the blue spar, which has been mistaken for lapis-lazuli, and the phosphate of alumina known as turquois, found only in Persia, and esteemed as an ornament. ”

“ In the first place, the phosphatic minerals found in the archæan rocks are considered derivative from organic remains, as to-day phosphorus as a phosphate results from animal secretions, though phosphorus is omnipresent in the plant-world, and the ashes of various vegetables yield from eight per cent, to fifty-three per cent, of phosphoric acid, while the annual shipment of flour and wheat from our shores represents thousands of tons of this element. ”

“ If a sample of copper contained 0.5 per cent. of arsenic, and 1 gram of it were taken for an assay, how much standard uranium acetate solution would be required in the titration?
PHOSPHORUS AND PHOSPHATES.
Phosphorus rarely occurs among minerals except in its highest oxidized state, phosphoric oxide (P2O5) , in which it occurs abundantly as "rock phosphate," a variety of apatite which is mainly phosphate of lime. Phosphates of most of the metallic oxides are found. Phosphoric oxide in small quantities is widely diffused, and is a constituent of most rocks. ”

“ All bone phosphate is forty-six per cent. phosphoric acid. When bone phosphate is given instead of phosphoric acid it simply makes the mixture appear to have more in it, and when both phosphoric acid and bone phosphate are stated one is merely a repetition of the other. The same is true of the statements, potash and sulphate of potash, one is a repetition of the other only a different form. ”

“ The reagent is prepared by dissolving a freshly made precipitate of iron phosphate from ten grams of ferric chlorid in 400 cubic centimeters of an aqueous solution of forty grams of glacial phosphoric acid. A gentle heat promotes the solution of the phosphate.
In the case of a fertilizer supposed to contain leather, about one gram of the material is treated with thirty cubic centimeters of water and a few drops of sulfuric acid. The mixture is boiled and poured on a filter. To a portion of the filtrate some of the solution of iron phosphate is added, and the mixture made alkaline with ammonia. ”

“ Phosphoric acid forms phosphates with potash, soda, lime, and magnesia. When bones are burned, a large quantity of a white earth remains (bone-earth) , which is a phosphate of lime, consisting of lime and phosphoric acid. Phosphate of lime is generally present in the ash of plants; phosphate of magnesia is contained most abundantly in the ash of wheat and other varieties of grain.
11. Chlorine.—This is a very suffocating gas, which gives its peculiar smell to chloride of lime, and is used for bleaching and disinfecting. ”

“ Phosphorite, when occurring in large deposits, is a mineral of much economic value for conversion into the super phosphate largely used as a fertilizing agent. Many of the impure substances thus utilized are not strictly phosphorite, but pass under such names as “rock-phosphate,” or, when nodular, as “coprolite” (q.v.) , even if not of true coprolitic origin. The ultimate source of these mineral phosphates may be referred in most cases to the apatite widely distributed in crystalline rocks. ”

“ In the products soluble in water are met free phosphoric acid, monocalcium phosphate, acid magnesium phosphate, and the iron and aluminum phosphates dissolved in the excess of phosphoric acid. In the products insoluble in water but soluble in the ammonium citrate are found bicalcium phosphate and iron and aluminum phosphates, which together constitute the phosphates called reverted. ”

“ The beneficial effects were obvious enough to increase the use of phosphates as plant nutrients and to call for new sources of supply. Active developments of phosphate mining and treating started in South Carolina in 1867, and in Florida in 1888. [25]
In a reciprocal action, more phosphate application to soils stimulated increasing research on the conditions and reactions obtaining in the complex and varying compositions called soil. The findings of bacteriologists made it clear that physics and chemistry had to be amplified by biology for a real understanding of fertilizer effects. ”

“ Important deposits of mineral phosphates are now worked on a large scale in the United States, the annual yield far surpassing that of any other part of the world. The most active operations are carried on in Florida, where the phosphate was first worked in 1887 in the form of pebbles in the gravels of Peace river. Then followed the discovery of “hard rock phosphate,” a massive mineral, often having cavities lined with nearly pure phosphorite. ”

“ Owing to its great chemical activity phosphorus never occurs free in nature. In the form of phosphates it is very abundant and widely distributed. Phosphorite and sombrerite are mineral forms of calcium phosphate, while apatite consists of calcium phosphate together with calcium fluoride or chloride. These minerals form very large deposits and are extensively mined for use as fertilizers. Calcium phosphate is a constituent of all fertile soil, having been supplied to the soil by the disintegration of rocks containing it. ”

“ He also rebukes me in a most earnest manner for the alleged misuse of the chemical term "phosphate of potash," which crept into my article in connection with the right use of the term "phosphate of lime," when I referred to the mineral phosphates of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida. Technically he is apparently right. There is no permanent form or no natural mineral form of phosphate of potash which can be removed from place to place. ”

“ Under the heading of manures that are used purely for their phosphatic benefit to the soil are superphosphate and basic slag.
Superphosphate.—This is the typical phosphatic manure, and is the base of the numerous artificial manures used on the farm. Superphosphate is made by dissolving raw phosphatic minerals in sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) , the tribasic phosphate of lime which these contain being converted into the so-called “soluble phosphate,” sulphate of lime being formed at the same time. ”

“ Dissolved bones vary so greatly that the buyer should insist on a guarantee of quality under the heads of ‘soluble phosphate of lime,’ ‘insoluble phosphate of lime,’ and ‘nitrogen’ or ‘ammonia,’ also for an allowance at current rates for each unit per cent. if the bones should prove on analysis to contain less than the guaranteed per-centages, &c. It should be insisted that mineral superphosphates are delivered dry and in good condition, and be guaranteed to contain a certain per-centage of soluble phosphates at a certain price per unit per cent. ”

“ In each case the water in the final product is probably united as crystal water with the calcium salts produced. The monocalcium salt formed in the first reaction is soluble in water and the dicalcium salt in the second reaction in ammonium citrate. Where fertilizers are to be transported to great distances there is a considerable saving of freight by the use of such a high-grade phosphate, which may, at times, contain over forty per cent of available acid. The phosphoric acid used is made directly from the mineral phosphate by treating it with an excess of sulfuric acid. ”

“ Therapeutics.—The phosphorus used in the British pharmacopoeia is obtained from calcium phosphate, and is a waxlike non-metallic substance soluble in oils and luminous in the dark. There are various medicinal preparations. In young animals phosphorus has a remarkable influence on the growth of bone, causing a proliferation of the jelly-like masses and finally a deposit in them of true bony material. ”

“ Thus, from phosphatides, phosphoric acid is generated, and they could also be called phosphagens. Since 1926, however, the name phosphagens has been reserved for a group of organic substances that release their phosphoric acid very readily. The link between phosphorus and carbon is provided by oxygen in the phosphatides, by nitrogen in the phosphagens. In vertebrates, the basis for the phosphoric acid is creatine, whereas invertebrates have arginine instead.
Creatine Phosphate
Arginine phosphate Nuclein and Nucleic Acids
All parts of an organism are essential for life. ”

“ Q. What is phosphorus?
A. A pale amber-coloured substance, [Pg 284] resembling wax in appearance. The word is derived from two Greek words, which mean “to produce or carry light.” (φῶς-φέρεινφῶς) .
Q. How is phosphorus obtained?
A. By heating bones to a white heat; by which means the animal matter and charcoal are consumed, and what is left is called “phosphate of lime.” ”

“ The deposit consisting of ferrous and ferric phosphates mixed with black iron oxide may be varied in composition, texture and color. It is ordinarily a dull gray and oiling gives a soft mat black more in accordance with modern taste than the shiny nickel plating that delighted our fathers. Even the military nowadays show more quiet taste than formerly and have abandoned their glittering accoutrements.
The phosphate bath is not expensive and can be used continuously for months by adding more of the concentrated solution to keep up the strength and removing the sludge that is precipitated. ”

“ The first mode of occurrence is of little significance practically, for the crystalline rocks generally contain too little phosphate to be valuable, though occasionally an igneous rock may contain enough apatite to form an inferior fertilizing agent, e.g. the trachyte of Cabo de Gata in south-east Spain, which contains 12–15% of phosphoric acid. In many deposits of iron ores found in connexion with igneous or metamorphic rocks small quantities of phosphate occur. ”

“ Pineapple, strawberry, peach, grape and claret phosphates are all made as the above.
CLARET PHOSPHATE. 1 gallon claret phosphate.
1 gallon simple syrup.
Use about 2 ounces of this syrup to each glass, with several dashes of phosphate; serve in small, thin glasses.
A much better way to serve this phosphate is in small, thin wine glasses; it gives it a much better appearance, and leads people to believe it is finer than any other phosphate.
EGG LEMONADE. Juice of one lemon,
Powdered sugar,
1 egg,
Cracked ice.
Shake in shaker, then fill shaker with fine soda stream; strain into soda glass ”

“ Phosphoric acid [Pg 35] is composed of phosphorus and oxygen. The end of a loco-foco match contains phosphorus, and when it is lighted it unites with the oxygen of the atmosphere and forms phosphoric acid; this constitutes the white smoke which is seen for a moment before the sulphur commences burning. Being an acid, this substance has the power of combining with any of the alkalies. Its most important compound is with lime.
Will soils, deficient in phosphate of lime, produce good crops?
From what source do plants obtain their phosphorus? ”