Potash
The term potash has more than one meaning. In a narrow sense, it refers to the salt potassium carbonate (K2CO3). In a broader sense, it is a generic term for various water-soluble potassium salts that may be mined or manufactured.[1]
Potash has been used since antiquity in the manufacture of glass and soap. Today, it is mainly used as a fertilizer.
Etymology
The name is derived by combining the English words pot and ash, referring to its discovery in the water-soluble fraction of wood ash. The element potassium was named after the word potash.
Various meanings
The term has become somewhat ambiguous due to the substitution in fertilizers of cheaper potassium salts, such as potassium chloride (KCl) or potassium oxide (K2O), to which the same common name is now sometimes also applied. In addition, potassium hydroxide (KOH) is commonly called caustic potash, an additional source of confusion.
A number of chemical compounds containing potassium use the word potash in their traditional names:
potash fertilizer potassium oxide, K2O caustic potash or potash lye potassium hydroxide, KOH carbonate of potash, salts of tartar, or pearlash potassium carbonate, K2CO3 chlorate of potash potassium chlorate, KClO3 muriate of potash potassium chloride, KCl nitrate of potash or saltpeter potassium nitrate, KNO3 sulfate of potash potassium sulfate, K2SO4
Potash production and trade
Up until the twentieth century, potash was one of the most important industrial chemicals in Europe. It was refined from the ashes of broadleaved trees and produced primarily in the forested areas of Europe, Russia, and North America. The first U.S. patent was issued in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for an improvement "in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process."
Potash production provided late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century settlers in North America a way to obtain badly needed cash and credit as they cleared their wooded land for crops. To make full use of their land, excess wood, including stumps, needed to be disposed. The easiest way to accomplish this was to burn any wood not needed for fuel or construction. Ashes from hardwood trees could then be used to make lye, which could either be used to make soap or boiled down to produce valuable potash. Hardwood could generate ashes at the rate of 60 to 100 bushels per acre (500 to 900 m³/km²). In 1790, ashes could be sold for $3.25 to $6.25 per acre ($800 to $1500/km²) in rural New York State – nearly the same rate as hiring a laborer to clear the same area.
To create potash, take an open-bottomed barrel, and place it on a stone base with a groove cut into it, which will direct the resulting liquid into another container. Then place a layer of straw at the bottom, covered by a layer of sticks. This filter layer will prevent the ashes from contaminating the solution. Then fill the barrel with wood-ashes and pour water over it. The water will leach out the potash into the receptacle. This product will be of variable quality. Historically, it was measured by seeing how high an egg would float in the solution. The liquid may be boiled away to give a black, impure potash.
If desired, the potash could be further refined by baking in a kiln to produce a less impure form of potassium carbonate, known as pearlash for its pearly white color. This step was commonly performed at a nearby ashery. The refined potash was in increasing demand in Europe for use in the production of glass and ceramic goods. American hardwoods, besides being more abundant, are said to have provided a higher yield of quality potash than European wood. In some parts, potash receipts became a common form of currency. Some settlers found potash production to be quite lucrative, resulting in faster deforestation than farming alone would have caused.
The world's largest potash producer is the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. Many other areas, however, have the resources for potash production. Today, 14 countries produce the world's supply of potash. The main producers are North America (mainly Saskatchewan, with two-thirds of the world's recoverable potash located there), Russia, Belarus, Germany, Israel and Jordan, (the later two both using solar evaporation pans at the Dead Sea to produce carnallite from which potassium chloride is produced).
Northeastern Thailand's Udon Thani province has also been identified as one of the world's richest potash reserves, and is expected to become a major exporter of the mineral. Italian Thai Development PCL is currently seeking a mining license that would allow the company to access the deposit. The process of gaining licensure has been substantially delayed due to public opposition to the mine. Many of the villagers who live directly above the proposed mine site have expressed concern that the company and its Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) have not adequately addressed concerns of salinization of groundwater and soil or land subsidence. Both would threaten the economic stability of local communities that rely primarily on rice farming for survival.
See also
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Garrett, Donald E. 1995. Potash: Deposits, Processing, Properties and Uses. London: Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0412990717.
- Keesler, M. Paul. 2002. The Yankee Invasion: They Burned The Woods and Sold the Ashes. Mohawk: Discovering the Valley of the Crystals. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
- Highley, David, et al. 2006. Potash. British Geological Survey. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
External links
- The Potash Trade. Townships Heritage WebMagazine. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
- "Digging for Potash, Mining Companies Encounter An Iron Will" The Common Language Project. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
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