Processes for producing mixed fertilizers

Claim 1

A SELF-GRANULATING PROCESS FOR PRODUCING HIGH ANALYSIS MIXED FERTILIZERS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF (1) COMBINING AT LEAST ONE PARTICULATE METAPHOSPHATE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CALCIUM METAPHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM METAPHOSPHATE AND SODIUM METAPHOSPHATE WITH WATER AND AT LEAST ONE STRONG MINERAL ACID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID, NITRIC ACID, PHOSPHORIC ACID AND SULFURIC ACID TO PROVIDE A REACTION MIXTURE IN THE FORM OF A SLURRY, (2) INTIMATELY MIXING SAID REACTION MIXTURE AND THEREBY INITIATING HYDROLYSIS OF THE METAPHOSPHATE WITH SUCH HYDROLYSIS PROGRESSING EXOTHERMICALLY AS MIXING CONTINUES, (3) THEN INCORPORATING NEUTRALIZING AMMONIA IN SAID REACTION MIXTURE IN PROPORTION FOR SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE NEUTRALIZATION OF THE ACID CONSTITUENTS OF THE REACTION MIXTURE, AND (4) THEN FURTHER INTIMATELY MIXING SAID REACTION MIXTURE AS SAID NEUTRALIZING AMMONIA REACTS WITH SAID ACID CONSTITUENTS AND, BY SUCH FURTHER MIXING, CAUSING THE REACTION MIXTURE TO BE CONVERTED TO A SUBSTANTIALLY FULLY REACTED FERTILIZER PRODUCT IN THE FORM OF SOLID GRANULES WHICH ARE SUBSTANTIALLY HOMOGENEOUS AS TO CHEMICAL CONSTITUENCY, THE PROPORTION OF ACID EMPLOYED BEING IN THE RANGE OF FROM 0.1 TO 1.5 PARTS BY WEIGHT PER PART BY WEIGHT OF SAID METAPHOSPHATE, AND THE PROPORTION OF WATER EMPLOYED BEING 1-5 TIMES THE STOICHIOMETRIC QUANTITY REQUIRED FOR COMPLETE HYDROLYSIS OF THE METAPHOSPHATE.