Knowra Ammonia Ammonia Ammonia is a colorless, pungent compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with formula NH₃. It is a weak base and a major industrial feedstock, especially for fertilizers.
Haber–Bosch process : An industrial process that synthesizes ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen using high pressure, elevated temperature, and a catalyst. This process supplies most industrial ammonia by overcoming the difficulty of activating atmospheric nitrogen.
Nitrogen fertilizer : A fertilizer that supplies plants with nitrogen needed for growth. Ammonia is the starting material for many nitrogen fertilizers used to raise crop yields.
Green Revolution : A period of agricultural change marked by high-yield crop varieties, expanded irrigation, and increased fertilizer use. Industrial ammonia enabled the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers that supported major gains in crop production.
Ammonia in antiquity : Historical uses and observations of ammonia and ammonium-containing materials in ancient societies. Ammonium salts and pungent ammonia sources were known long before the compound was synthesized industrially.
Ammonium : The positively charged ion NH₄⁺, formed when ammonia accepts a proton. Ammonia becomes ammonium in water and in many fertilizer salts.
Urea : An organic compound, CO(NH₂)₂, widely used as a nitrogen fertilizer and industrial chemical. Ammonia reacts with carbon dioxide to manufacture urea, a major fertilizer.
Nitrogen cycle : The movement of nitrogen among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and waters. Ammonia is a central intermediate in biological and human-altered nitrogen flows.
Joseph Priestley : An English chemist and natural philosopher who isolated several gases, including ammonia. Priestley prepared gaseous ammonia in the eighteenth century and called it alkaline air.
Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory : A theory defining acids as proton donors and bases as proton acceptors. Ammonia’s acceptance of a proton makes it a Brønsted–Lowry base.
Ammonia refrigeration : A refrigeration method that uses ammonia as the working fluid in a vapor-compression cycle. Ammonia’s thermodynamic properties make it effective for large-scale industrial cooling.
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