Astronomy and Space

Ammonia

Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. A stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pungent smell. It is widely used in fertilizers, refrigerants, explosives, cleaning agents, and is a precursor for numerous chemicals. Renewable ammonia is considered as an important energy carrier in future energy systems. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous waste, and it contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to fertilisers. Around 70% of ammonia produced industrially is used to make fertilisers in various forms and composition, such as urea and diammonium phosphate. Ammonia in pure form is also applied directly into the soil. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many chemicals. In many countries, it is classified as an extremely hazardous substance. Ammonia is toxic, causing damage to cells and tissues. For this reason it is excreted by most animals in the urine, in the form of dissolved urea. Ammonia is produced biologically in a process called nitrogen fixation, but even more is generated industrially by the Haber process. The process helped revolutionise agriculture by providing cheap fertilizers. Conventional ammonia production accounts for about 500 million ton/year CO2 emissions. The global industrial production of ammonia in 2021 was 235 million tonnes. Industrial ammonia is transported by road in tankers, by rail in tank wagons, by sea in gas carriers, or in cylinders. Ammonia occurs in nature and has been detected in the interstellar medium. Ammonia boils at −33.34 °C (−28.012 °F) at a pressure of one atmosphere, but the liquid can often be handled in the laboratory without external cooling. Household ammonia or ammonium hydroxide is a solution of ammonia in water.

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See also

• ▸Hakuto-R Mission 1
• ▸Achaemenid Arabia
• ▸Cluster II (spacecraft)

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