Uses of Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. It makes up about 78% of the Earth's atmosphere. The element nitrogen is a colorless, tasteless, odorless and inert gas. It was discovered in 1772, by the Scottish physician, Daniel Rutherford. It can be found in all living organisms and it has found many applications in the industrial sector.

Properties of Nitrogen

It is a non-metal element. It is an inert diatomic gas. Elemental nitrogen is characterized by extremely strong bonds, for which it is quite difficult to convert elemental nitrogen to compounds. However, it is quite easy to convert the nitrogen compounds into elemental nitrogen. A large amount of energy is released by the nitrogen compounds when they burn, explode or decay back into nitrogen gas. It is trivalent in most compounds, as it has five electrons in its outer shell. Molecular nitrogen condenses at 77 K or -195.8 degree Celsius at atmospheric pressure. It freezes at 63 K or -210 degree Celsius.

Nitrogen in Living Organisms

It can be found in both plants and animals. It is the constituent element of amino acids, and amino acids are the basic units of proteins. It is also the component of nucleic acids such as, DNA and RNA and neurotransmitters. It is immensely important for plant life as well. Plants require adequate nitrogen for proper growth and development. In plants, it is a constituent of chlorophyll, the pigment which converts sunlight into energy. It can found in the leaves, roots and also in the grains. However, plants cannot directly absorb atmospheric nitrogen. Instead, nitrogen in the atmosphere gets transformed into other compounds, which plants can absorb. Nitrogen cycle is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen undergoes several transformations.

Nitrogen in Industries

It has found many uses in industrial, pharmaceutical and other sectors.

• It is often used in light bulbs in place of argon. It serves as an inexpensive substitute for argon in incandescent light bulbs.
• It is used to preserve packaged foods, as it can prevent the oxidation of foods to maintain their freshness and delay rancidity.
• It is used to make ammonia, which in turn is used in making fertilizers. Apart from making fertilizer, ammonia is used to create nitric acid, which is used in explosives.
• It is used for protecting inflammable and explosive materials by shielding them from contact with oxygen. Such materials are usually placed in an airtight environment or container. The air inside the container is replaced with nitrogen.
• It is used to keep certain materials like metals, electronics and even medications and beverages from oxidizing.
• It is essential in the manufacturing of stainless steel, and electronic parts like, transistors, integrated circuits and diodes.
• Dried and pressurized nitrogen gas is used as a dielectric gas for high voltage equipment.
• In military aircraft fuel systems, it helps to reduce fire threat.
• Due to its inertness and lack of moisture, it has found uses in filling automotive and aircraft tires.
• At temperature below -195.5 degree, it is a liquid and this liquid nitrogen is used as a refrigerant, to preserve blood, sperm, eggs and other biological samples and in cryotherapy to remove skin lesions like, warts and actinic keratosis.
• Nitrogen dioxide is another important nitrogen compound, which too has many uses in the industrial sector. It also used as a catalyst in various oxidation reactions, rocket fuel, flour bleaching agent and oxidizing agent.
• It is also important for pollution control, especially for eliminating volatile organic compounds from liquids, and to remove harmful vapors and liquids from industrial equipment.

Many of these nitrogen uses are attributed its inertness. In fact, inertness can be considered as one of the most important properties of nitrogen, for which it has found numerous applications and uses.