The mineralization of some nitrogenous materials in soil

The mineralization in soil of various nitrogenous materials, including waste formalized casein from the plastics industry and products prepared from other waste materials such as lignin and sawdust, has been followed by determining the amounts of mineral nitrogen produced on incubation of the materials with soil under controlled conditions in the laboratory. Formalized casein and formalized hoof were found to decompose more slowly and uniformly than the unformalized materials. Deamination of casein had little effect on its rate of decomposition. Products prepared by treating lignin with nitric acid and with nitrous acid decomposed at similar rates and more rapidly than lignin‐ammonia reaction products. Nitrated sawdust decomposed very slowly and cellulose nitrate was highly resistant to decomposition. RESP-3806