Identify the sources, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties,

uses of nitrogen-containing compounds

SOURCES
SOURCES:
https://www.longdom.org/open-access/nitrogen-sources-and-cycling-in-the-ecosystem-and-its-role-in-air-
waterand-soil-pollution-a-critical-review-2375-4397-1000136.pdf
http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/Research/Clue/nitrogen.html

Nitrogen exists naturally in the environment and is constantly being converted from organic to
an inorganic form and vice versa. Nitrogen is a naturally occurring element that is essential for growth
and reproduction in both plants and animals. The main source of nitrogen include: atmospheric
precipitation, geological sources, agricultural land, livestock and poultry operations and urban waste.
Agricultural emissions show a strong increase due to the application of fertilizer to agricultural soils,
grazing of animals and spreading of animal manure. Emissions from agricultural practices and animal
manure wastes are the major source of nitrogen pollution in surface and underground water. It is
found in amino acids that make up proteins, in nucleic acids, that comprise the hereditary material
and life’s blueprint for all cells, and in many other organic and inorganic compounds. In addition,
nitrogen comprises about 80% of the Earth's atmosphere. Nitrogen is a component of amino acids
and urea. Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins. Proteins comprise not only structural
components such as muscle, tissue and organs, but also enzymes and hormones essential for the
functioning of all living things. Urea is a byproduct of protein digestion. We use the term "organic
nitrogen" to describe a nitrogen compound that had its origin in living material. The nitrogen in protein
and urea is organic nitrogen. Organic nitrogen can enter septic systems as bodily wastes, discarded
food material, or as components of cleaning agents.

METHODS OF PREPARATION
SOURCES:
https://www.britannica.com/science/nitrogen
https://opentextbc.ca/chemistry/chapter/18-7-occurrence-preparation-and-properties-of-nitrogen/
The chief commercial method of fixing nitrogen (incorporating elemental nitrogen into compounds) is
the Haber-Bosch process for synthesizing ammonia. The general lack of reactivity of nitrogen makes
the remarkable ability of some bacteria to synthesize nitrogen compounds using atmospheric nitrogen
gas as the source one of the most exciting chemical events on our planet. This process is one type of
nitrogen fixation. In this case, nitrogen fixation is the process where organisms convert atmospheric
nitrogen into biologically useful chemicals. Nitrogen fixation also occurs when lightning passes
through air, causing molecular nitrogen to react with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides, which are then
carried down to the soil.
All living organisms require nitrogen compounds for survival. Unfortunately, most of these organisms
cannot absorb nitrogen from its most abundant source—the atmosphere. Atmospheric nitrogen
consists of N2 molecules, which are very unreactive due to the strong nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond.
However, a few organisms can overcome this problem through a process known as nitrogen fixation,
illustrated in.
Nitrogen fixation is the process where organisms convert atmospheric nitrogen into biologically useful
chemicals. To date, the only known kind of biological organisms capable of nitrogen fixation are
microorganisms. These organisms employ enzymes called nitrogenases, which contain iron and
molybdenum. Many of these microorganisms live in a symbiotic relationship with plants, with the best-
known example being the presence of rhizobia in the root nodules of legumes.
Low yields of nitric oxide, NO, form when heating nitrogen and oxygen together. NO also forms when
lightning passes through air during thunderstorms. Burning ammonia is the commercial method of
preparing nitric oxide. In the laboratory, the reduction of nitric acid is the best method for preparing
nitric oxide. When copper reacts with dilute nitric acid, nitric oxide is the principal reduction product:
It is possible to prepare nitrogen dioxide in the laboratory by heating the nitrate of a heavy metal, or
by the reduction of concentrated nitric acid with copper metal. Commercially, it is possible to prepare
nitrogen dioxide by oxidizing nitric oxide with air.
Dinitrogen pentaoxide, N2O5, is a white solid that is formed by the dehydration of nitric acid by
phosphorus(V) oxide (tetraphosphorus decoxide). The oxides of nitrogen(III), nitrogen(IV), and
nitrogen(V) react with water and form nitrogen-containing oxyacids. Nitrogen(III) oxide, N2O3, is the
anhydride of nitrous acid; HNO2 forms when N2O3 reacts with water. There are no stable oxyacids
containing nitrogen with an oxidation state of 4+; therefore, nitrogen(IV) oxide, NO2,
disproportionates in one of two ways when it reacts with water. In cold water, a mixture of HNO2 and
HNO3 forms. At higher temperatures, HNO3 and NO will form. Nitrogen(V) oxide, N2O5, is the
anhydride of nitric acid; HNO3 is produced when N2O5 reacts with water.

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

SOURCES:
https://www.britannica.com/science/nitrogen
https://sciencing.com/physical-properties-nitrogen-gas-2719.html
It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas that is the most plentiful element in Earth’s atmosphere
and is a constituent of all living matter. The boiling temperature of nitrogen is −195.8 °C (−320.4 °F),
about 13 °C (−23 °F) below that of oxygen, which is therefore left behind. Melting point of −209.86 °C
(−345.8 °F). The element exists as N2 molecules, represented as (:N:::N:), for which the bond energy
of 226 kilocalories per mole is exceeded only by that of carbon monoxide, 256 kilocalories per mole.
Because of this high bond energy, the activation energy for reaction of molecular nitrogen is usually
very high, causing nitrogen to be relatively inert to most reagents under ordinary conditions.
Furthermore, the high stability of the nitrogen molecule contributes significantly to the thermodynamic
instability of many nitrogen compounds, in which the bonds, although reasonably strong, are far less
so than those in molecular nitrogen. For these reasons, elemental nitrogen appears to conceal quite
effectively the truly reactive nature of its individual atoms. Urea appears to be a light brown or light
yellow. It is normally translucent and comes in the form of a liquid or solid (pellets). The smell of urea
is almost non-existent. If a sample of urea is not odorless, it will have a slight ammonia scent. The
density of this mineral is 1.33 g/cm3. Density is the ratio between the mass and volume. The specific
gravity of urea is 1.34 at room temperature: 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius. This
makes the mineral heavier than water. Urea is soluble in water. Its solubility ratio is 119 grams per
100 grams water at a temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius. The molecular
weight, or molar mass, of urea is measured at 60.06 grams. This measurement indicates the mass of
one mole of urea. Urea decomposes at 270.8 degrees Fahrenheit (132.7 degrees Celsius); it
decomposes into ammonia and carbon dioxide. If burned, it emits small amounts of nitrogen oxides.

USES
SOURCES:
https://www.britannica.com/science/nitrogen
Commercial production of nitrogen is largely by fractional distillation of liquefied air. Nitrogen can also
be produced on a large scale by burning carbon or hydrocarbons in air and separating the resulting
carbon dioxide and water from the residual nitrogen. On a small scale, pure nitrogen is made by
heating barium azide, Ba(N3)2. Various laboratory reactions that yield nitrogen include heating
ammonium nitrite (NH4NO2) solutions, oxidation of ammonia by bromine water, and oxidation of
ammonia by hot cupric oxide.
Elemental nitrogen can be used as an inert atmosphere for reactions requiring the exclusion of
oxygen and moisture. In the liquid state, nitrogen has valuable cryogenic applications; except for the
gases hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, fluorine, and oxygen, practically all chemical
substances have negligible vapour pressures at the boiling point of nitrogen and exist, therefore, as
crystalline solids at that temperature.
In the chemical industry, nitrogen is used as a preventive of oxidation or other deterioration of a
product, as an inert diluent of a reactive gas, as a carrier to remove heat or chemicals and as an
inhibitor of fire or explosions. In the food industry nitrogen gas is employed to prevent spoilage
through oxidation, mold, or insects, and liquid nitrogen is used for freeze drying and for refrigeration
systems. In the electrical industry nitrogen is used to prevent oxidation and other chemical reactions,
to pressurize cable jackets, and to shield motors. Nitrogen finds application in the metals industry in
welding, soldering, and brazing, where it helps prevent oxidation, carburization, and decarburization.
As a nonreactive gas, nitrogen is employed to make foamed—or expanded—rubber, plastics, and
elastomers, to serve as a propellant gas for aerosol cans, and to pressurize liquid propellants for
reaction jets. In medicine rapid freezing with liquid nitrogen may be used to preserve blood, bone
marrow, tissue, bacteria, and semen. Liquid nitrogen has also proven useful in cryogenic research.
Large quantities of nitrogen are used together with hydrogen to produce ammonia, NH3, a colourless
gas with a pungent, irritating odour. Ammonia is one of the two principal nitrogen compounds of
commerce; it has numerous uses in the manufacture of other important nitrogen compounds. A large
portion of commercially synthesized ammonia is converted into nitric acid (HNO3) and nitrates, which
are the salts and esters of nitric acid. Ammonia is used in the ammonia-soda process (Solvay
process) to produce soda ash, Na2CO3. Ammonia is also used in the preparation of hydrazine,
N2H4, a colourless liquid used as a rocket fuel and in many industrial processes. Nitric acid is
another popular commercial compound of nitrogen. A colourless, highly corrosive liquid, it is much
used in the production of fertilizers, dyes, drugs, and explosives. Urea (CH4N2O) is the most
common source of nitrogen in fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), a salt of ammonia and nitric
acid, is also used as a nitrogenous component of artificial fertilizers and, combined with fuel oil, as an
explosive (ANFO).
With oxygen, nitrogen forms several oxides, including nitrous oxide, N2O, in which nitrogen is in the
+1 oxidation state; nitric oxide, NO, in which it is in the +2 state; and nitrogen dioxide, NO2, in which it
is in the +4 state. Many of the nitrogen oxides are extremely volatile; they are prime sources of
pollution in the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is sometimes used as an
anesthetic; when inhaled it produces mild hysteria. Nitric oxide reacts rapidly with oxygen to form
brown nitrogen dioxide, an intermediate in the manufacture of nitric acid and a powerful oxidizing
agent utilized in chemical processes and rocket fuels.
Also of some importance are certain nitrides, solids formed by direct combination of metals with
nitrogen, usually at elevated temperatures. They include hardening agents produced when alloy
steels are heated in an atmosphere of ammonia, a process called nitriding. Those of boron, titanium,
zirconium, and tantalum have special applications. One crystalline form of boron nitride (BN), for
example, is nearly as hard as diamond and less easily oxidized and so is useful as a high-
temperature abrasive.
The inorganic cyanides contain the group CN−. Hydrogen cyanide, or formonitrile, HCN, is a highly
volatile and extremely poisonous gas that is used in fumigation, ore concentration, and various other
industrial processes. Cyanogen, or oxalonitrile, (CN)2, is also used as a chemical intermediate and a
fumigant.
Azides, which may be either inorganic or organic, are compounds that contain three nitrogen atoms
as a group, represented as (―N3). Most azides are unstable and highly sensitive to shock. Some of
them, such as lead azide, Pb(N3)2, are used in detonators and percussion caps. The azides, like the
halogen compounds, readily react with other substances by displacement of the so-called azide
group and yield many kinds of compounds.
Nitrogen forms many thousands of organic compounds. Most of the known varieties may be regarded
as derived from ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, cyanogen, and nitrous or nitric acid. The amines, amino
acids, and amides, for example, are derived from or closely related to ammonia. Nitroglycerin and
nitrocellulose are esters of nitric acid. Nitro compounds are obtained from the reaction (called
nitration) between nitric acid and an organic compound. Nitrites are derived from nitrous acid (HNO2).
Nitroso compounds are obtained by the action of nitrous acid on an organic compound. Purines and
alkaloids are heterocyclic compounds in which nitrogen replaces one or more carbon atoms.