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Abstract

New processes and equipment are disclosed for producing elemental phosphorus and thermal phosphoric acid. Benefits are listed below. 1. Phosphorus-containing solids are recycled to smelting furnaces thus eliminating hazardous waste generation. 2. Phosphorus furnace feedstock is upgraded and this permits unbeneficiated phosphate ore to be smelted. 3. Energy is conserved during manufacture of elemental phosphorus and phosphoric acid. 4. Electric energy is produced by cogeneration. 5. Fluorine in phosphate ore is recovered as ammonium fluoride. 6. Phosphorus-containing liquids are used as feedstock for production of suspension fertilizers. Benefits are achieved by agglomerating phosphate ore with monocalcium phosphate binder by a method which upgrades the ore. Phosphorus-containing solids are fluidized and burned to form an impure phosphoric acid mixture which is reacted with small sized phosphate ore to form monocalcium phosphate binder. Gases from agglomerator are scrubbed with condenser water to collect fluorine compounds. Scrubber effluent is treated with ammonia to convert fluosilicate compounds to ammonium fluoride and precipitate silica. Precipitate is added to agglomerator to provide SiO.sub.2 as flux to smelt phosphate ore. Surplus condenser water, containing ammonium fluoride and ammonium phosphate, is used to produce suspension fertilizers. Elemental phosphorus is burned to form P.sub.2 O.sub.5 which is hydrated with water to make phosphoric acid. Energy released by burning elemental phosphorus and by hydrating P.sub.2 O.sub.5 is recovered as electric energy. Byproduct furnace gas is cleaned and burned in a cogeneration facility to produce electric energy.

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First Claim