Anhydrous ammonia is also used to add nonprotein nitrogen to corn silage. The ammonia is contained under pressure up to a cooling reactor in this application. Goggles, rubber gloves, and heavy-duty clothing, including long-sleeved shirts, must be worn during the process of connecting and disconnecting the ammonia hose and fitting.
Ammonia is a common word that you often hear in classes or simply when you are shopping for household goods. Besides, this chemical element has some interesting properties as well as many popular uses. Ammonia is basically a colorless gas with a distinct pungent odor. It is found naturally in the environment mixed in air, soil or water. It is also present in plants, animals as well as humans. Ammonia also called azane, is formed when Hydrogen and Nitrogen react. It comes with a molecular formula NH3. It is highly soluble in water. Apart from that, Ammonia is the second most manufactured substance in quantity after sulphuric acid in the world.
Common Uses of Ammonia
The use of ammonia is the most important building-block chemical in the manufacture of products that people make use of every day.
- Ammonia in Industries: Ammonia is used extensively in several industries. It is used either as a stabilizer, neutralizer or as a source of nitrogen to carry out several functions. Ammonia is used in wastewater treatment, leather, rubber, paper, food and beverage industries. It also is used in cold storage, refrigeration systems and in the production of pharmaceuticals. Ammonia is used in the printing as well as cosmetics industries. It is also used in fermentation.
- Agriculture: Ammonia is used mainly in Agricultural industries. About 90 %of all ammonia produced is used in this field. Since ammonia acts as a rich source of nitrogen and other elements, it is used in fertilizers to basically sustain food production. It is also used in the production of liquid fertilizer solutions consisting of compounds like ammonium nitrate, salts, urea, and others. And there’s more. Ammonia is often used as an antifungal agent on certain fruits and as preservatives.
- Household Products: Ammonia is one of the main ingredients in a lot of household cleaning products. It is used as a cleaning agent and can be used to remove stains or clean mirrors, tubs, sinks, windows and more. Some other uses include antimicrobial agent or an antiseptic.
- For Manufacturing Various Compounds: Ammonia in the manufacturing of a number of compounds like nitric acid, Hydrogen cyanide, Ammonium carbonate, Phenol, Urea, Amino acids, and a lot of other items.
- Metal Treating: Ammonia is used in operations like carbonitriding, nitriding, furnace brazing, bright annealing, sintering, atomic hydrogen welding and other operations.
- Petroleum and Mining: In the petroleum industry ammonia is utilized in counterbalancing the acid constituents of oil which is in crude form. It also helps to keep equipment free from corrosion. Additionally, Ammonia is used in the mining industry for extraction of several metals.
