Stabilized enhanced efficiency controllable release calcium cyanamide compositions

• US 20020121117A1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Published: 09/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard Hartmann
• Original Assignee: Richard Hartmann
• Inventors: Holt, Timothy G., Hartmann, Richard O., Shirley, A. Ray Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 6,576,035 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 71/55
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 7/00 Fertilisers containing calcium or other cyanamides
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 9/00 Fertilisers containing urea or urea compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C05C 9/02 containing urea-formaldehyde condensates
• CPC Class Codes: C05F 3/00 Fertilisers from human or animal excrements, e.g. manure
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 5/12 Granules or flakes
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 5/23 Solutions
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 5/27 Dispersions, e.g. suspensions or emulsions
• CPC Class Codes: C05G 5/30 Layered or coated, e.g. dust-preventing coatings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/20 Fertilizers of biological origin, e.g. guano or fertilizers made from animal corpses
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/145 the feedstock being materials of biological origin

Abstract

Calcium cyanamide compositions and methods for their use are disclosed. The compositions and methods stabilize active ionic compositions comprising calcium cyanamide and enhance the effectiveness of calcium cyanamide alone or synergistically in combination with nitrogen containing materials such as urea and organics, for example, manures. The compositions and methods also facilitate controllable site directed delivery of the contents of the stabilized compositions. The compositions and methods are effective for fertilizing, soil amending, metal stabilizing and odor and organism inhibition. The compositions are stable, easily calibrated, and non-clogging for spray delivery to target sites.

Claims

1. A granular material, comprising:

about 0.1 to about 40% of the total weight as calcium cyanamide; and

about 60 to about 99.9 percent of the total weight as urea.

2. The granular material of claim 1 where the calcium cyanamide is homogeneously mixed with the urea.

3. The granular material of claim 1 that is heterogeneous and comprises a core and a shell.

4. The granular material of claim 3 where the core comprises a substance selected from the group consisting of calcium cyanamide, urea, and mixtures thereof and the shell comprises a substance selected from the group consisting of calcium cyanamide, urea, and mixtures thereof.

5. The granular material of claim 4 where the core comprises calcium cyanamide and the shell comprises urea.

6. The granular material of claim 1 further comprising at least one additional nitrogen containing material.

7. The granular material of claim 6 where the at least one additional nitrogen containing material is an ammonium salt.

8. The granular material of claim 7 where the ammonium salt is selected from the group consisting of ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium monophosphate, ammonium diphosphate, ammonium citrate, ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium phosphate, and mixtures thereof.

9. The granular material according to claim 1 further comprising at least one non-nitrogen plant nutrient.

10. The granular material of claim 9 where the non-nitrogen plant nutrient is selected from the group consisting of phosphorous, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur, and mixtures thereof.

11. The granular material of according to claim 1 where the composition further comprises at least one nitrogen containing compound selected from the group consisting of ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium monophosphate, ammonium diphosphate, ammonium citrate, ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium phosphate, and mixtures thereof and at least one non-nitrogen plant nutrient selected from the group consisting of phosphorous, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur, and mixtures thereof.

13. The composition according to claim 12 where the calcium cyanamide core comprises from about 0.1 to about 10 percent of the total mass of the composition and the urea shell further comprises from about 90 to about 99.9 percent of the total mass of the composition.

14. The composition according to claim 13 where the composition is granular.

15. The composition according to claim 12 further comprising at least one additional nitrogen containing compound.

16. The composition of claim 15 where the at least one additional nitrogen containing compound is an ammonium salt.

17. The composition of claim 16 where the ammonium salt is selected from the group consisting of ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium monophosphate, ammonium diphosphate, ammonium citrate, ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium phosphate, and mixtures thereof.

18. The composition according to claim 12 further comprising at least one additional non-nitrogen plant nutrient.

19. The composition of claim 18 where the non-nitrogen-containing plant nutrient is selected from the group consisting of phosphorous, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur, and mixtures thereof.

20. The composition of claim 12 further comprising a hardening agent in the urea shell.

21. The composition of claim 20 where the hardening agent is formaldehyde.

22. The composition according to claim 14 where the composition further comprises at least one additional nitrogen containing compound and at least one additional non-nitrogen plant nutrient.

23. The composition of claim 22 where the at least one additional nitrogen containing compound is selected from the group consisting of ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium monophosphate, ammonium diphosphate, ammonium citrate, ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium phosphate, and mixtures thereof and the at least one additional non-nitrogen plant nutrient is selected from the group consisting of phosphorous, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur, and mixtures thereof.

25. The method according to claim 24 where the calcium cyanamide particle is from about 0.1 to 40 percent by weight of the final heterogeneous granular composition.

26. The method according to claim 25 where the calcium cyanamide particle is from about 0.1 to about 10 percent by weight of the final heterogeneous granular composition.

27. The method according to claim 24 where urea is molten

28. The method according to claim 27 where the molten urea is sprayed onto the calcium cyanamide particle.

29. The method according to claim 27 where the molten urea spray further comprises from about 0.01% to about 10% water.

30. The method according to claim 27 where the calcium cyanamide particle is coated with successive layers.

31. The method according to claim 30 where the successive layers are all urea layers.

32. The method according to claim 30 where at least one of the successive layers comprise materials selected from the group consisting of urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium citrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, sodium nitrate, ammonium chloride, and mixtures thereof.

12. A heterogeneous composition comprising a calcium cyanamide core and a urea shell where the calcium cyanamide core is from about 0.1 to about 40 percent by weight and the urea shell is from about 60 to about 99.9 percent by weight.

24. A method for making a heterogeneous granular composition, comprising:

providing a calcium cyanamide particle; and

coating the calcium cyanamide particle with urea.

33. A method for making a homogeneous solid composition, comprising:

combining calcium cyanamide, a nitrogen containing material, and water, where the amount of water is at least 14 times the weight of the dry calcium cyanamide, to form an aqueous material;

inhibiting aeration of the aqueous material; and

dehydrating the aqueous material to form a solid.

34. The method of claim 33 where the nitrogen containing material is selected from group consisting of urea, manure, and combinations thereof.

35. The method of claim 33 where the nitrogen containing material is urea and the aqueous material is saturated with urea.

36. The method of claim 33 where the aqueous material is a slurry.

37. The method of claim 33 where inhibiting aeration comprises combining and dehydrating within a container that inhibits exchange of gases with the atmosphere.

38. The method of claim 37 where the container is sealed to substantially prevent exchange of gases with the atmosphere.

39. The method of claim 37 where the container is evacuated to inhibit exchange of gases with the atmosphere.

40. The method of claim 33 where inhibiting aeration comprises combining and granulating in the presence of a gas that serves to substantially exclude the atmosphere.

41. The method of claim 40 where the gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, acetylene, ammonia, argon, and mixtures thereof.

42. The method of claim 41 where the gas is acetylene and the acetylene is generated from residual calcium carbide in the calcium cyanamide.

43. The method of claim 33 where at least one additional nitrogen containing compound is included in the aqueous material.

44. The method of claim 33 where at least one additional non-nitrogen plant nutrient is included in the aqueous material.

45. The method of claim 33 where a hardening agent is included in the aqueous material.

46. A solid composition formed by the method of claim 33.

48. The method of claim 47 where the seed particle is a urea particle.

49. The method of claim 47 where the seed particle is a calcium cyanamide particle.

50. The method of claim 47 where the mixture of calcium cyanamide and urea further comprises at least one additional ingredient, selected from the group consisting of nitrogen containing materials, non-nitrogen plant nutrients, and mixtures thereof.

47. A method of making a homogeneous granular composition, comprising:

melting together a mixture of about 0.1 to about 40 percent calcium cyanamide and about 60 to about 99.9 percent urea; and

spraying the melted mixture onto a seed particle to form a granule.

51. An aqueous composition comprising greater than about 40 parts of water and about 10 parts of calcium cyanamide and urea combined, where the about 10 parts of calcium cyanamide and urea combined further comprises from about 0.1 to about 3 parts calcium cyanamide and from about 7 to about 9.9 parts urea.

52. The composition of claim 51 where aeration of the composition is inhibited.

53. The aqueous composition of claim 51 where it is a slurry.

54. The aqueous composition of claim 51 where it is a solution.

55. A composition comprising from about 0.01 to about 5.0 percent calcium cyanamide and from about 95 to about 99.99 percent animal excreta where the animal excreta further comprises water in an amount at least 14×

the weight of the calcium cyanamide.

56. The composition of claim 55 comprising from about 0.01 to about 1.0 percent calcium cyanamide and from about 99 to about 99.99 percent animal excreta.

57. The composition according to claim 55 where aeration of the composition is inhibited by a method selected from the group consisting of placing the composition in a closed container, placing it in a sealed container, a gas that inhibits gas exchange with the atmosphere gases, and combinations thereof.

58. The composition according to claim 55 where the animal excreta is an aqueous slurry of manure.

60. The method of claim 59 where the calcium containing compound is calcium cyanamide that further comprises calcium oxide and calcium carbide and is added to at least 14×

its weight in water.

61. The method of claim 60 where the aqueous composition is a sprayable slurry.

62. The method of claim 60 where solids are removed from the aqueous composition before it is applied to provide nutrients to plants.

63. The method of claim 62 where solids are removed from the aqueous composition by a method selected from the group consisting of filtration, centrifugation, and decantation.

64. The method of claim 59 where the aqueous composition further comprises urea.

65. The method of claim 64 where urea is present in an amount from about 0.01% to about its saturation limit in the aqueous composition.

66. The method of claim 59 where aqueous composition further comprises animal excreta.

67. The method of claim 59 where aeration is inhibited until the composition is applied to soil.

68. The method of claim 59 where aeration is inhibited until the composition is applied foliarly to plants.

69. The method of claim 59 where aeration is inhibited until the composition is added to additional water and applied to plants through an irrigation system.

70. The method of claim 69 where the irrigation system is a fertigation/nitrigation system.

59. A method for providing nutrients to plants, comprising:

adding a calcium containing compound selected from the group consisting of calcium cyanamide, calcium oxide, calcium carbide, and mixtures thereof to water to form an aqueous composition; and

inhibiting aeration of the aqueous composition until it is applied to provide nutrients to plants.

71. A method for enhancing plant growth, comprising:

providing a granular composition, the composition comprising a calcium cyanamide core and a urea shell where the calcium cyanamide core is from about 0.1 to about 40 percent by weight and the urea shell is from about 60 to about 99.9 percent by weight; and

applying the granular composition to soil to induce plant growth.

74. The method of claim 71 where applying comprises application of the aqueous composition to soil.

75. The method of claim 71 where applying comprises application of the aqueous composition foliarly.

72. A method for enhancing plant growth, comprising:

providing a granular composition, the composition comprising a calcium cyanamide core and a urea shell where the calcium cyanamide core is from about 0.1 to about 40 percent by weight and the urea shell is from about 60 to about 99.9 percent by weight;

adding water to the granular composition to form an aqueous composition; and

applying the aqueous composition to enhance plant growth.

73. The method of claim 72 where aeration of the aqueous composition is inhibited until the aqueous composition is applied to enhance plant growth.

76. A method of composting animal excreta, comprising

adding about 0.1 to about 1.0 percent by weight calcium cyanamide to animal excreta where the animal excreta contains water in an amount at least 14×

the mass of calcium cyanamide to form a mixture.

77. A method of composting animal excreta, comprising:

adding about 0.1 to about 1.0 percent by weight calcium cyanamide to animal excreta, where the animal excreta contains water in an amount at least 14×

the mass of the calcium cyanamide to form a mixture; and

inhibiting aeration of the mixture.

78. The method of claim 77 where inhibiting aeration of the mixture comprises forming the mixture in a closed container.

79. The method of claim 78 where the closed container is sealed to substantially prevent gas exchange between the container and the atmosphere.

80. The method of claim 77 where inhibiting aeration of the mixture comprises forming the mixture in a container, the container also holding a gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, ammonia, acetylene, and mixtures thereof that serves to inhibit gas exchange between the container and the atmosphere.

81. The method of claim 77 where the animal excreta is liquidized manure.

82. The method of claim 77 where adding calcium cyanamide comprises adding calcium cyanamide in a form selected from the group consisting of calcium cyanamide fines, granulated calcium cyanamide, a homogeneous granule comprising calcium cyanamide and urea, a heterogeneous granule comprising calcium cyanamide and urea, an aqueous composition comprising calcium cyanamide dissolved in greater than 14×

its weight in water, and mixtures thereof.

83. The method of claim 77 further comprising application of the mixture to soil using a slurry spraying mechanism.

84. A method of enhancing plant growth, comprising;

combining greater than about 40 parts of water with about 10 parts of a combination of calcium cyanamide and urea, where the about 10 parts of a combination of calcium cyanamide and urea further comprises from about 0.1 to about 3 parts calcium cyanamide and from about 7 to about 9.9 parts urea to form a first aqueous composition;

inhibiting aeration of the first aqueous composition;

adding the first aqueous composition to additional water to form a second aqueous composition; and

applying the second aqueous composition to enhance plant growth.