Process for production of fertilizer pellets

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR THE FORMATION OF ROUNDED AND SUBSTANTIALLY SMOOTH FERTILIZER PELLETS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM SIZE AND AT LEAST 0.03 INCH-1.5 INCH IN DIAMETER BY COATING LARGE NUCLEI IN SUBSTANTIALLY INDIVIDUALIZED CONDITION WITH A SLURRY CONTAINING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF FERTILIZER SOLIDS AND WHEREIN AGGLOMERATION BETWEEN COATED, UNCOATED NUCLEI AND FERTILIZER SOLIDS PRESENT IN SAID SLURRY IS SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENTED, THE STEPS COMPRISING ESSENTIALLY TREATING A BED OF NUCLEI OF A FERTILIZER SUBSTANCE HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 40 MESH AND A MOISTURE CONTENT BELOW THE AGGLOMERATION POINT IN A CHAMBER WITH CONSTANT AGITATION TO PRODUCE A PHYSICAL SEPARATION OF A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF SAID NUCLEI FROM EACH OTHER, PASSING SAID SEPARATED NUCLEI THROUGH A HOT GASEOUS ATMOSPHERE CONTAINING AN AQUEOUS SLURRY OF FERTILIZER SUBSTANCES IN THE FORM OF FINE DROPLETS WHEREIN THE SEPERATED NUCLEI ARE CONTACTED AND COATED WITH SAID FINE DROPLETS OF FERTILIZER SLURRY, THE MOISTURE CONTENT AT THE SURFACES OF SAID COATED NUCLEI BEING RAISED ABOVE THE AGGLOMERATION POINT AND THEN SIMULTANEOUSLY AND RAPIDLY