ESTIMATEDPHYSICALCHARACTERISTICSOF

FERTILIZERMATERIAL

Belowaresometypicalvaluesforphysicalcharacteristicsofcommonfertilizermaterials.Keep
inmindthatthesevalueswillvarydependingontherawmaterialsused,impuritiesinthe
product,handlingtechniques,etc.Theseareballparkvaluesonlytheyshouldbecheckedon
yourindividualmaterials.

Typical*________________________
SaltoutDensityPercent
Product
Temp.(F)lb/galWaterpH

2800
110.67

30
7.2**
3200

28

11.06

20
7.2**
10340
10

11.65

37
6.0
120026S<20

11.04

40
7.4
100010Zn
32

10.4

63
10.5
7217

20

11.2

48
6.5
6.5
41010

18

10.3

63
82143S.5Zn
<5

11.3

46
6.5
91846S.5Zn
<5

11.3

43
6.5
92027S.5Zn
<5

11.4

42
6.5
181307S
<5

11.3

32
6.1
103003S
<5

11.7

37
6.1

BulkDensityCritical
DryMaterial_________
_________lb/cuft________
RelativeHumidity

Urea(granular)

4448

72
AmmoniumNitrate(prill)

5458

59
AmmoniumNitrate(lowdensity)
45

59
DiammoniumPhosphate

5560

82
Monoammonium

6065

92
TripleSuperphosphate

6575

94
PotassiumChloride(granular)

5865

84
PotassiumChloride(soluble)

94

84
PotassiumMagnesiumSulfate

9098

79
AmmoniumSulfate(crystal)

6366
AmmoniumSulfate(granular)

4753

79

*Actualvaluesdovary.Informationpresentedisaguideonly.
**pHofUANmayvarydependingoncorrosioninhibitor/amountoffreeammoniaused.

TemperatureEffectonDensity

Whiletemperaturehasasmalleffecton
thedensityofliquidfertilizers,theeffect
isrelativelyminorandgenerallyisnotof
practicalimportance.However,
temperaturecanaggravateshrink
problemsiftheproducttemperatureis
nottakenintoaccountwhentaking
inventoryonlargestoragetanks.

Forexample,supposethat80degree28
00Isplacedinstorage(densityofabout
106lb/gal).Iftheproductwereallowed
Product
tocoolto40degreesandinventorywere
Temperature
2800
3000
3200
10340
taken,therewouldbeanapparentshrink
Lb/Gal
(1.3%)ifitisassumedthattheproduct
stillweighed10.6lb/galinsteadofa
20
10.78
10.98
11.17
11.76
morecorrect10.74lb/gallon.Thegraph
30
10.76
10.95
11.14
11.74
belowprovidesanestimateoftheeffect
40
10.73
10.92
11.12
11.72
oftemperatureonthedensitiesof2800,
50
10.70
10.90
11.09
11.70
3200and10340.
60
10.67
10.86
11.05
11.68

70
10.64
10.83
11.02
11.66

80
10.61
10.80
10.99
11.64
VerifyingtheWeightorDensityofLiquid
90
10.58
10.76
10.95
11.62
Fertilizer
100
10.55
10.76
10.92
11.60

Waterhasaspecificgravityof1.0andweighs8.34poundspergallon.Asimplemethodto
determinethedensityofafertilizermaterialistofillanycontainerwithwaterandweighit
(fertilizeronly,withoutcontainerweight).Thenfillthecontainertoexactlythesamedepth
withtheliquidfertilizerandgetthefertilizeronlyweight.Utilizingtheseweights,wecan
determinethespecificgravity(density)oftheliquid.

SpecificGravityofFertilizer=WeightofFertilizer

WeightofWater

DensityofFertilizer(lb/gal)=SpecificGravityofFertilizerX8.34

Example: A5gallonpailofwaterweighed42.7poundsaftersubtractingouttheweight
ofthepail.Whenfilledwith28%UAN,theweightofthefertilizerwas53.4
pounds.

SpecificGravityofUAN= 53.4/42.7=1.28

DensityofUAN=1.28x8.34=10.67lb/gal