asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state what percentage, if any, of the normal requirements of sulphate of ammonia of this country is produced here, and whether the possibility of the commercial production of this salt in this country has ever been investigated.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sulphate of Ammonia.
Sulphate of ammonia is produced here only in relatively small quantities and as a by-product of coal gas production. The country's normal pre-war user was about 30,000 tons per annum, of which the quantity derived from gas production here varied from 6 per cent. to 9 per cent. over the years 1936, 1937 and 1938. Investigations into the possibility of producing sulphate of ammonia on a commercial basis are now being carried out by Ceimici Teoranta under the wider powers conferred on that company by the Industrial Alcohol (Amendment) Act, 1947.