초록 ▼

Cold ammonia, preferably cold liquid anhydrous ammonia preferably at substantially ambient or atmospheric pressure, is applied (1) to the soil as a fertilizer or (2) to feed grains, forages and anaerobically fermentable plant material to supply thereto and provide therein non-protein nitrogen (NPN).

Cold ammonia, preferably cold liquid anhydrous ammonia preferably at substantially ambient or atmospheric pressure, is applied (1) to the soil as a fertilizer or (2) to feed grains, forages and anaerobically fermentable plant material to supply thereto and provide therein non-protein nitrogen (NPN). The cold ammonia is obtained by (1) introducing a stream of ambient temperature, pressurized liquid ammonia at a velocity of at least about 5000 feet per minute into an expansion chamber, the expansion chamber comprising a substantially vertically elongated barrier means located substantially in the center of the horizontal planes of the expansion chamber and, in the path of the expansion cone of the inlet stream, which barrier means assists in imparting a spinning motion to the inlet stream and allows some liquid ammonia to flow down the barrier means and thereby improves the separation of the liquid and gaseous ammonia, (2) imparting a high velocity spinning motion to the liquid ammonia entering the chamber such that rapid flow is produced around the interior of the chamber to thereby provide rapid separation of the liquid and gaseous ammonia formed in the chamber.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for carrying out the substantially adiabatic expansion of a pressurized stream of ambient-temperature liquid ammonia to produce a stream of cold liquid ammonia at a reduced pressure and a stream of cold gaseous ammonia at a reduced pressure, which comprises (1) introducing at a velocity of

A method for carrying out the substantially adiabatic expansion of a pressurized stream of ambient-temperature liquid ammonia to produce a stream of cold liquid ammonia at a reduced pressure and a stream of cold gaseous ammonia at a reduced pressure, which comprises (1) introducing at a velocity of at least about 5000 feet per minute an inlet stream of partially decompressed liquid ammonia tangentially into an expansion chamber, the expansion chamber comprising a substantially vertically elongated barrier means located (a) substantially in the center of the horizontal planes of the expansion chamber and (b) in the path of the expansion cone of the inlet stream, which barrier means assists in imparting a spinning motion to the inlet stream and allows some liquid ammonia to flow down the barrier means and thereby improves the separation of the liquid and gaseous ammonia, (2) imparting a high velocity spinning motion to the liquid ammonia entering the chamber such that rapid flow is produced around the interior of the chamber to thereby provide rapid separation of the liquid and gaseous ammonia in the chamber, and wherein the expansion chamber is provided with an outlet useful for the removal of gaseous ammonia therefrom which outlet is located above the paths of liquid flow to minimize the amount of liquid droplets being carried through the gaseous ammonia outlet and another outlet useful for the removal of cold liquid ammonia therefrom, the outlets being provided at opposite ends of the expansion chamber, (3) directing the flow of the cold reduced pressure liquid ammonia within the expansion chamber to the outlet useful for the withdrawal of cold reduced pressure liquid ammonia from the expansion chamber to effect separation between cold liquid ammonia and cold gaseous ammonia within the expansion chamber, and (4) withdrawing through the outlet useful for the removal of gaseous ammonia a stream of cold gaseous ammonia at reduced pressure and a stream of cold liquid ammonia at reduced pressure via the other outlet.