RogueRose - 12-6-2016 at 05:46
I have access to compost from a municipal facility. This compost is mainly wood chips and sludge from waste water treatment and possibly some raw
manure incorporated.
The piles are 25-30ft high and get really hot inside and the smell of ammonia is strong in the facility and the end product. The piles are turned or
transferred from one to another allowing for mixture and aeration.
The end product is a very dark brown, almost black with blackened wood chips and "dirt" (small particles).
I have the analytical results from the final product and it is a little confusing so here is a print-out:
I know the French method is a messy and smelly one that involves mixing straw and manure/urine and then boiling and then allowing to sit (I'm sure
that isn't the exact procedure but from what I recall, that is somewhat close).
Links to various pages discussing "French Method"
Isolation of KNO3 from Urine
Wiki KNO3 preperation via French Process
"Feed Your Brain" Making Gun Powder from Urine
Urinal Gold - KNO3!!!
My question is whether or not this compost can be used the same way or in any other way, to get nitrates. I'm open to the possibilities of adding
whatever is needed be it organic matter or chemicals, heating, filtering, etc. I'm just curious about the possibilities and procedure of this.
Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on whether this may be possible?
[Edited on 12-6-2016 by RogueRose]
[Edited on 12-6-2016 by RogueRose]
Bert - 12-6-2016 at 06:03
At the very least, you could learn some things about early chemical extraction/manufacturing technologies if you try...
I would start by mixing a good bit of powdered limestone, crushed oyster shells or similar into a few cubic yards of the material, parking it outdoors
by my back yard garden, under a cover from the rain- And urinating on it whenever I was nearby and needing to relieve myself, also sprinkling it with
water as needed to keep moist but not soggy, turning it over occasionally all summer long.
(Edit)
If you care to provide links to your source material and some pertinent quotes on the proposed process and/or your intended procedure with the
rationale for that plan, I would move this back into the original forum.
[Edited on 12-6-2016 by Bert]
Bert - 13-6-2016 at 18:05
I would go back a bit further than your given sources...
http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/lecontesalt/leconte.html
And of course, the work of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier on the Royal Gunpowder Commision.
Please feel free to elucidate, and explain in your thread exactly where you want to go with this?