Ammonia

BY SHAUNE LAM

History

Discovery

Industrial made-Haber-Bosch process

1909- discovered by the German chemists Fritz Haber (nobel

prize 1918) and Karl Bosch

Main uses have been in agriculture and war.

Motivation- WWII

War uses- gaseous form

- sharply irritates the eyes and lungs.

-higher concentrations it makes the lungs fill with fluid and

can quickly cause death.
- allowed Germany to create explosives
- used as fuel to power buses
- aromatic ammonia- used to treat/prevent fainting

Haber- trick to winning war would be by chemical warfare

-shorten war, end conflicts earlier to avoid deaths

Motivation

Important in agriculture

Used in the creation of fertilizers to make soil/grounds more

productive

Helped to supply food to high demands

Economic

literally dozens of large-scale ammonia production plants

throughout the industrial world

About all fertilizer companies produce ammonia

Numerous amounts of corporations that hold patents

Sources

Made up of hydrogen and nitrogen

Man-made-through the Haber-Bosch process for the use in

making explosives, also for the use of fertilizers

Natural- from decaying organic matter and from the excreta of

humans and animals

Current Main uses

Agriculture- over 80% of ammonia in fertilizer

Helps to increase high quality food production

Over 110 million tons produced a year for fertilizer

Negative Impacts/ControversyEnvironment

Odors

toxic to water organisms

High concentrations- harm vegetation, leaching to water bodies

acidification of ground and water bodies, which can harm plant and animal
life

Controversy- fish actually are protected against ammonia

- Misgurnus anguillicaudatus- extremely ammonia-tolerant fish
-rainbow trout-an ammonia-sensitive fish

-the contraction performance of the heart from this fish were found to be
the same
-suggests that the hearts of most, if not all, fish species are protected
against ammonia.

Future Uses

Clean Fuel- When burned, it produces nothing more than water

vapour and nitrogen (78% of earths atmosphere)

solid state ammonia synthesis- drawing hydrogen out of water

vapour through a charged membrane, and then reacting it with
nitrogen

Italian tyre-maker Marangoni built an ammonia-gasoline hybrid

automobile,the Marangoni Toyota GT 86-R Eco-Explorer.

The car can go for 178 kilometres on just one tank of ammonia.

Chemical and
Physical Properties

Molecule- NH

Covalent bond- two nonmetals

Trigonal planar

Has lone pair causing for angles to be 107.8 instead

of 106.7.

2s and 2p orbitals create four sp3 hybrid orbitals,

one of which is occupied by a lone pair of electrons.

3 sigma bonds and 1 non-bonded pair of electrons

Physical Properties

Colorless gas with an odor like urine

Molar Mass: 17.0304 g/mol

Standard state: gas

Density: 0.73 kg/m

Solubility: 89.9 g/100 ml, max concentration: 0.880 g/cm3,

miscible

Boiling point: -28.01F (-33.34C)

Melting point: -107.9F (-77.73C)

Dipole Moment

Physical Properties

Combustion: pale yellowish-green flame, nitrogen gas, water

4 NH3 + 3 O2 2 N2 + 6 H2O (g) (Hr = 1267.20 kJ/mol)

Decomposition: endothermic reaction

2NH3(g) N2(g) + 3H2(g) (H= +92.4 KJ/mol)

Chemical Reactivity

Ammonia + Nitric Acid > Ammonia Nitrate

NH3 + HNO3 > NH4NO3

Explosive reaction, then the excess water is evaporated which

forms the product of a solid called Ammonium Nitrate.

Biological
Importance

In the body
Protein is broke down by deamination which removes the
amino group of an amino acid which makes ammonia. this
acid is then respired while the toxic ammonia is converted
into urea through the ornithine cycle. then the kidneys
remove the urea from the body Urea Cycle

Most ammonia in the body forms when protein is

broken down by bacteria in the intestines.

The liver normally converts ammonia into urea, which is

then eliminated in urine.

Urea- a less toxic form of ammonia

In the body

hyperammonemia- high concentrations of

ammonia

Liver dysfunction, like in cirrhosis

defects in the enzymes responsible for the

urea cycle

Animals

Fish/Aquatic invertebrates- excrete ammonium right into water

Mammals/sharks/amphibians- urea cycle

Birds/reptiles- converted to uric acid, less water loss when

excreted

Negative Effects

Irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.

Exposure to high concentrations in the air-severely burn the skin,

eyes, throat, or lungs.

In extreme cases-blindness, lung damage, death

Breathing lower concentrations causes coughing and nose and

throat irritation.

Swallowing ammonia may burn the mouth, throat, and stomach.

As energy

Relooked at as possible source of energy for fuel

Transportation/ vehicular industry

Conclusion

Ammonia is quite useful, but then also quite dangerous

Important- make sure to wash your fruit/veggies as they are most

likely grown around fertilizers

Works Cited

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 9 June 2015.

Ammonia. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1986. Print.

"Ammonia Production." Ammonia Production. Web. 9 June 2015.

"Grab Ammonia out of Thin Air for Fuel of the Future." New
Scientist. Web. 9 June 2015.

"The Journal of Experimental Biology." Dogmas and Controversies

in the Handling of Nitrogenous Wastes: Ammonia Tolerance in the
Oriental Weatherloach Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus. Web. 9 June
2015.