Fertilizer manufacture

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING FERTILIZER MATERIAL IN SOLID PARTICLE FORM BY REACTION BETWEEN AMMONIA GAS AND A WATER SOLUTION OF AN ACID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NITRIC, PHOSPHORIC, AND SULFURIC ACIDS, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES THE STEPS OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A BED OF SOLID FERTILIZER PARTICLES, PASSING A STREAM OF AMMONIA-BEARING GAS UPWARDLY THROUGH THE BED AT A VELOCITY SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN THE SOLID PARTICLES THEREOF AS A DENSE TURBULENT FLUIDIZED SUSPENSION, SUPPLYING TO THE BED FOR EXOTHERMIC REACTION THEREIN A SUBSTANTIALLY STOICHIOMETRICAL QUANTITY OF SAID ACID IN WATER SOLUTION TO REACT WITH THE AMMONIA GAS WITHIN THE BED WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS EVAPORATION OF THE WATER OF SAID SOLUTION WHEREBY SAID REACTION TAKES PLACE ON THE SURFACES OF SOLID PARTICLES IN THE BED SO THAT INCREMENTS OF DRY REACTION PRODUCT ARE FORMED THEREON TO YIELD FERTILIZER NODULES BUILT UP TO A CONTROLLED SPHERICAL SHAPE AND SIZE, DISCHARGING SPENT FLUIDIZING GAS AND EVAPORATED WATER FROM ABOVE THE BED, AND CONTINUOUSLY DISCHARGING FROM THE BED A QUANTITY OF THUS BUILT UP FERTILIZER MODULES WHILE CONTINUOUSLY FEEDING TO THE BED UNDERSIZED SOLID FERTILIZER PARTICLES.