How has ammonia changed the lives of people?
Ammonia is involved in everyone's lives whether they know it or not. Since the discovery in 1908 of how to make ammonia, and its industrial production soon after, ammonia has become increasingly important in our everyday world.
Ammonia dissolved in water is used as an alkaline cleanser for cleaning such things as windows and floors. It is also commonly used as a refrigerant gas. Ammonia is also essential for the manufacture of nitric acid which is then used to make dyes, fibres, plastics and explosives.
But the most important way that ammonia has changed the lives of people is through its role in the manufacture of fertilisers. In 1908 the world’s population was about 2.0 billion; today it is over 7.0 billion people. The world has been able to grow enough food to feed this extra 5 billion people only because of the use of fertilizers, and it is ammonia that has been the most important chemical in the manufacture of fertilizers.
But there has also been a negative side to ammonia. Ammonia is used to produce nitric acid (HNO3) and this is then used to produce nitro-glycerine, one of the most widely used explosives. Of course explosives are useful in mining and building, but explosives have also been at the heart of all the wars of the 20th century. In this way it can be said that ammonia, as well as saving lives through the production of food, has also, indirectly, been used to kill many millions of people.
Ammonia dissolved in water is used as an alkaline cleanser for cleaning such things as windows and floors. It is also commonly used as a refrigerant gas. Ammonia is also essential for the manufacture of nitric acid which is then used to make dyes, fibres, plastics and explosives.
But the most important way that ammonia has changed the lives of people is through its role in the manufacture of fertilisers. In 1908 the world’s population was about 2.0 billion; today it is over 7.0 billion people. The world has been able to grow enough food to feed this extra 5 billion people only because of the use of fertilizers, and it is ammonia that has been the most important chemical in the manufacture of fertilizers.
But there has also been a negative side to ammonia. Ammonia is used to produce nitric acid (HNO3) and this is then used to produce nitro-glycerine, one of the most widely used explosives. Of course explosives are useful in mining and building, but explosives have also been at the heart of all the wars of the 20th century. In this way it can be said that ammonia, as well as saving lives through the production of food, has also, indirectly, been used to kill many millions of people.