Abstract
It is known that the presence of silicious matter in organic substances interferes with the potash estimations. In most carbonaceous substances the silica content is small but, even so, it is often desirable to ‘dehydrate’ the silica, prior to the potash extraction, by the use of perchloric acid. In the cases of dried sewage sludge and composts, such as those prepared from town refuse or from sewage sludge and straw, the silicious matter forms a major portion of ash which may comprise more than 80 per cent of the dry matter. In such cases the interference of silicious matter is so serious that only 10 per cent or less of the total potash content may be extractable with hot water, after ignition, or about 20 per cent if warm dilute hydrochloric acid is used. The accompanying table shows the actual amounts of potash extracted from one gram sample of town refuse.
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GARRICK, P. Estimation of Potassium in Composts and Sewage Sludges. Nature 160, 434 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160434a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160434a0
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