Nitrogen

N2

NITROGEN (N2): BASIS OF LIFE


NITROGEN (N2): BASIS OF LIFE

Nitrogen is used as a shielding gas in welding and to transport flammable substances. It serves as a propellant and as a filling gas for aircraft tires. Other application areas include refrigerator recycling, the cold grinding of plastics, and the chemical synthesis of nitrogen compounds on an industrial scale – in the production of active substances, for example.

As an essential component of amino acids, nitrogen is a fundamental building block of all life. Without the element with the symbol N, there would be no metabolism, no protein and no DNA – neither in plants nor in animals or humans. Nitrogen constitutes nearly two kilograms of the weight of a 70-kilogram adult.

Ninety-nine percent of all nitrogen on Earth is in the air. However, only a few plants from the bean family (legume family) can, with the aid of bacteria, absorb nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. All others require the solid nitrogen compounds contained in arable soil and consumed by the plants. That’s why over 80 percent of the world’s nitrogen production – some 40 million tons per year – is used just to produce chemical fertilizers.

Pure nitrogen is used for many purposes, including as a filling gas for aircraft tires, so they do not catch on fire from the heat generated during takeoff and landing. The gas serves as a packaging gas or a propellant, such as for whipped cream or in beverage dispensing systems that need especially high tap pressure.

Liquid nitrogen is used in cryotechnology as a cooling medium – for food storage, for example, or flash freezing. Other application areas for liquid nitrogen include concrete cooling and soil freezing in construction work as well as cryosurgery. The best known example of the latter is as a treatment to “freeze” warts off.

In German, nitrogen gets its name – Stickstoff – from its characteristic ability to smother both flames and living creatures. The scientific name nitrogenium derives from the Greek word for saltpeter (“nitros”), from which nitrogen was extracted before the invention of air separation.

Elementsymbol

Chemical symbol:

N

Occurrence:

With about 78 %, it is the single largest component of air; its mass percent of the Earth’s four spheres combined is 0.03 %

Boiling point:

- 195,79 °C

Freezing point:

- 210,1 °C

Chemical properties:

The gas has a neutral odor and taste and condenses to a colorless liquid. Nitrogen is extremely inert; it is barely soluble in water and nonflammable. It is the third most electronegative element after fluorine and oxygen.

Extraction:

Air separation


Application

NITROGEN IS IN HERE:

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

Cryogenic high voltage

PACKAGING OF SNACKS

Nuts to be savored

WINE PRODUCTION

Bottling the bouquet

SUPERCONDUCTING POWER CABLES

Near zero resistance

THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS

Adaptable energy production

E-BIKES

Reliable e-bike drives

PET BOTTLES

Form for fluids

DIVING

Safety at great depths

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Sounds good!

LIQUEFIED GASES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF TOUCH PANELS

Sensitive surfaces

NITROGEN FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

Cooling nuclear fusion

CRYO-SAUNA

Ice cold well-being

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION

Fulfilling the desire to have children

RUBBER DEFLASHING

Smooth edges

NITROGEN AS SHIELDING GAS OPTIMIZES PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ASSEMBLY PROCESS

Two birds with one stone

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE

Sitting more comfortably

LIQUEFIED GASES FOR IPHONE PRODUCTION

Perfectly connected

FREEZING ENABLES EFFICIENT PVC RECYCLING

PVC recycling

HVAC TECHNOLOGY

Airy by design

A STRONG HEART FOR COMPUTERS, CELL PHONES, ETC.

Reliable computer brains

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

Cooling for magnets

WELL-PACKAGED FRESHNESS

Packaged freshness

SAFE DRILLING INTO ROCK HARD SOIL

Rock solid safety

FLASH FREEZING OF ICE CREAM

Crispy cold

TURNING GARDEN HOSES INTO GARDEN HOSES

Recycling garden hoses

“DUOCONDEX” PREVENTS TONS OF POLLUTION FROM HARMING THE ENVIRONMENT

Pollutants recovered

CHEESE PROCESSING

Nachhaltiger genießen

POTATO PROCESSING

Just like freshly cooked food

GASES FOR MANUFACTURING UV DISINFECTION LAMPS

Gentle germ-killers