Fused Tricalcium Phosphate as a Low-Fluorine Phosphorus Supplement for Dairy Cattle

Added impetus was given during the recent world war to the search for a phosphorus supplement for cattle which safely would replace the bone meal in the ration, due to the shortage of feeding-grade bone meal. The Tennessee Valley Authority developed a process for defluorinating rock phosphate which lowered the fluorine considerably and lowered the phosphorus only slightly (7). This process involves fusion of the rock phosphate in a shaft furnace and quenching in high-velocity water jets when the fluorine has been driven off. From an original material containing 3.5 to 4.0 per cent of fluorine, a fused tricalcium phosphate containing less than 0.4 per cent of fluorine can be produced.