Question

What are the main uses of nitrogen ?

Answer 1

Nitrogen (N₂)

• Nitrogen belongs to a category of non-metals.
• It belongs to 15^th group and 2^nd period of the modern periodic table.
• It is generally present in a gaseous state at room temperature ($25°\mathrm{C}$) .

Uses of Nitrogen

• Nitrogen is used in chemical Industries to make fertilisers, Nitric acid (HNO₃), Nylons, Explosives, etc.
• It is used to make Ammonia by Haber's process.

Haber's process

$\underset{\mathrm{Nitrogen}}{{\mathrm{N}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Hydrogen}}{3{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}\stackrel{\mathrm{Iron}\left(\mathrm{catalyst}\right)}{\to }\underset{\mathrm{Ammonia}}{2{\mathrm{NH}}_3\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}$

• It is used in the food industry to prevent it from oxidation. For example, Chips packets are flushed with Nitrogen gas to prevent the oxidation of food.
• It is also used as fuel in aircrafts
• It is used in the manufacturing of Stainless Steel.