Manufacture of fertilizers

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR PREPARING A NITROGEN-PHOSPHATE BASE FERTILLIZER, WHICH COMPRISES REACTING PHOSPHATE ROCK COMPOSED ESSENTIALLY OF PARTICLES OF A SIZE CAPABLE OF PASSING A 100 MESH SIEVE, WITH AN AQUEOUS ACID MEDIUM CONTAINING AT LEAST ABOUT 2 EQUIVALENTS OF H2SO4 FOR EACH 3 EQUIVALENTS OF ANY OTHER ACID FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES TO CONVERT SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE PHOSPHATE CONTENT OF THE ROCK TO H3PO4, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF ACID BEING AT LEAST 33% IN EXCESS OF THAT THEORETICALLY REQUIRED TO EFFECT SUCH CONVERSION TO H3PO4, AND THE WATER CONTENT OF THE REACTION MIXTURE BEING 8 TO 120 PARTS PER 100 PARTS OF PHOSPHATE ROCK, SUBJECTING THE RESULTING SLURRY COMPRISING CASO4, H3PO4 AND EXCESS ACID WITHOUT ANY PREVIOUS CURING STEP, TO REACTION WITH AMMONIA IN AN AMOUNT OF 6-8 MOLS PER 10 EQUIVALENTS OF ACID EMPLOYED IN ACIDULATION, FOR A TIME SUFFICIENT TO CONVERT SAID H3PO4 ESSENTIALLY TO DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE AND AMMONIUM PHOSPHATES, THE AMMONIATION REACTION REACHING A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 25-180* C., RECOVERING A FLUID TO PLASTIC MASS OF MATERIAL, DRYING AND GRANULATING SAID MATERIAL, AND OBTAINING AS PRODUCT A UNIFORM, STABLE, FREE-FLOWING, GRANULAR FER TILIZER COMPOSITION CONTAINING DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, AMMONIUM PHOSPHATES AND AMMONIUM SULFATE.