PROCESS FOR PELLETIZING A SULPHUR-BENTONITE CLAY MIXTURE AND THE PRODUCT FORMED THEREBY

摘要

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA process is provided for pelletizing a mixture of elementalsulphur and bentonite clay to produce a water degradable prill. The pro-cess includes adding dry clay dust to molten sulphur at an elevated tem-perature to provide a molten sulphur-clay mixture. Droplets of the mix-ture are then formed. A nitrogen-containing liquid fertilizer coolantsolution which will not cause undue degradation of the droplets of themixture at a temperature lower than the freezing temperature of the sul-phur-bentonite mixture is then provided. The droplets are fed into thatcoolant, and are passed through the coolant for a time sufficient to annealthe droplets into pellets. The annealed pellets are then removed from thecoolant. Thus, a process is provided in which the sulphur-bentonite mix-ture is pelletized in the water, rather than being degraded. The productincludes a water-degradable elemental sulphur product, which is essentiallydust-free and has good degradation characteristics when exposed to moisturein the soil.