Ammonia | Properties | Uses | and Facts

Properties Uses and Facts about Methane

What is Ammonia

Ammonia is a gas, which has a specific and pungent smell. It is a chemical compound made of nitrogen and hydrogen, its chemical formula is NH3, that is, one molecule of ammonia has one atom of nitrogen and 3 atoms of hydrogen. Ammonia is a building-block chemical, so it is a major component in the manufacture of many products. It is found naturally in the air, soil, water and the whole environment, apart from this it is also found naturally in the body of all plants, animals and humans.

Ammonia Properties Uses and other Details

Properties of Ammonia

• Ammonia is a colorless gas with a very strong odor, which appears to be similar to the odor of sweat or urine.
• The melting point of ammonia is -78 °C, and its boiling point is -33.3 °C.
• In the liquid state, ammonia gas appears as a colorless liquid, while in the solid state, it is converted into a white crystalline solid.
• The density of ammonia gas is 0.730 kg per cubic meter.
• Ammonia gas dissolves very quickly in water and forms an ammonium hydroxide solution, which can cause severe skin burns if it comes in contact with it.
• Ammonia gas is inflammable to some extent, but it does not burn easily, nitrogen gas and water vapor are formed when ammonia gas burns.
• Light yellow-green flame emerges on burning of ammonia gas.
• Ammonia is a harmful gas, exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air causes immediate irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can result in blindness, lung damage or even death.
• Ammonia is a corrosive gas, when exposed to it metals like iron, steel, copper, brass and zinc get rusted very quickly.
• All alkali metals and some alkaline earth metals readily dissolve in liquid ammonia, giving a blue colored solution.

Uses of Ammonia

• The most important use of ammonia is in agriculture, with more than 85 percent of the total ammonia produced being used to make a fertilizer called ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate makes nitrogen available to plants, nitrogen is an essential nutrient for crops and growing plants.
• Ammonium hydroxide solution is prepared by mixing ammonia gas with water. It is an important ingredient in many household cleaning products, which are widely used to clean a variety of surfaces including floors, sinks, bathrooms, toilets, countertops, glass, and tiles.
• In the textile industry, ammonia is used in the production of synthetic fibers such as nylon and rayon.
• Ammonia is used as a refrigerant gas in air conditioning equipment.
• Ammonia is used in the production of commercial explosives such as TNT, nitroglycerin, and nitrocellulose.
• Ammonia is used to enhance the effectiveness of the disinfectant chlorine added to drinking water.
• Ammonia is used in the production of many plastics, pesticides and dyes.
• Ammonia is used in the fermentation industry as a source of nitrogen and to balance the pH.
• Ammonia is used in the treatment of harmful gaseous emissions in a number of ways. For example, burning of fossil fuels produces harmful gases like sulfur-dioxide and nitrogen oxide, for which ammonia is used to clean them. Sulfur-dioxide and ammonia react to form ammonium sulfate, which is a fertilizer, and nitrogen-oxide and ammonia react to form nitrogen and water vapor.
• Ammonia is used as a stabilizer and as a source of nitrogen in the waste water treatment industry, rubber industry, paper industry and leather industry.
• Ammonia is used in the production of nitric acid, soda ash, and dyes.
• As a fuel, ammonia is a clean fuel because it does not produce greenhouse gases, but it is not as powerful as other fuels and it is also difficult to extract energy from. Efforts are being made to use ammonia as a fuel, for this hydrogen is separated from ammonia, which can be used to produce electricity in a hydrogen fuel cell. In addition, ammonia has been used experimentally as a direct fuel in some small rockets.
• Ammonia is also used as an antimicrobial agent for food products.
• In the pharmaceutical industry, ammonia is used to make a variety of medicines, vitamins and cosmetics.

Production of Ammonia

Ammonia is produced commercially by the Haber process. For this, a mixture of dry nitrogen and hydrogen gases in the ratio of 1:3 is heated at a temperature of 450 to 500 degree Celsius, compressed at a pressure of 200 to 300 atm (atmospheric pressure) and passed over an iron catalyst. Aluminum-oxide and potassium-oxide are mixed with iron catalyst, which act as promoter. This process produces ammonia gas, which is then liquefied and separated.

Facts about Ammonia

• About 50 percent of the world's food production depends on fertilizers made from ammonia.
• Most ammonia in the world is produced by the Haber process, a process carried out at temperatures of 500 °C and very high pressures. The process requires a lot of energy, so ammonia production accounts for 2 percent of the world's energy consumption.
• The process of ammonia production is one of the biggest causes of carbon dioxide gas generation in the world, because the amount of energy consumed for ammonia production, during the generation of that energy, a lot of carbon dioxide gas is emitted. Is. In addition, the hydrogen used for this process is obtained from natural gas or oil through processes that emit carbon dioxide gas. To reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions, scientists are working to produce ammonia through renewable energy and generate hydrogen without fossil fuels.
• Ammonia is formed in the form of amino acids and waste material during the digestion of proteins in our body. Our body processes ammonia in the liver into another waste product called urea, which is then excreted from the body in urine.

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