Blog by Tatyana Korabelnikova LAUGHING GAS (nitrous oxide) what it is and why it is dangerous

Features of nitrogen production

Nitrogen is always present around us. So in the earth’s atmosphere there is at least 75% of this gas; it is necessary for the human body to carry out many metabolic processes. A high percentage of this substance is found in proteins, amino acids, and hemoglobin.

During the era of active industrial development, nitrogen was obtained from Chilean nitrate. But with the decrease in the amount of this mineral, humanity is using inexhaustible atmospheric reserves.

There are two atoms in one gas molecule. At the same time, they are very firmly connected to each other. It is impossible to form a connection with other elements until the atomic bond is broken. Today you can buy liquid nitrogen, which is obtained from air and brought to a liquid or gaseous state.

Health Hazard

Nitrous oxide is toxic, so it affects the body even in small doses. But with regular intake of gas, dangerous consequences arise, some of which are irreversible:

anemia develops, which leads to fatigue and weakness;
the body's resistance to infections decreases;
it is possible to develop vitamin B deficiency, which leads to nerve damage;
breathing is inhibited, and when accumulated in the body it manifests as suffocation;
Depression, insomnia develops, and, as a result, aggression develops.

Laughing gas also causes oxygen starvation in the body, which affects internal organs. If oxygen does not reach the brain, it dies irreversibly within 2-3 minutes. Nitrous oxide also accumulates in the bone marrow, which can lead to paralysis.

Inhaling a sufficient dose of nitrous oxide can cause a person to lose control of their body muscles and faint. In this case, there is a risk of getting bruises and abrasions, but an even greater danger is difficulty breathing, which can lead to death. With prolonged inhalation, paralysis of the limbs also develops.

Like any substance that causes euphoria, laughing gas leads to addiction, which requires comprehensive treatment.

States of matter

Before moving on to consider how liquid nitrogen is produced, it is necessary to clarify the characteristics of the substance. If no violations were made during the manufacturing process, these parameters will comply with GOST, and the product can be effectively used for all intended purposes.

The state for nitrogen at normal atmospheric pressure is gaseous:

No smell or color.
Poorly soluble in water.
There is no reaction with any chemicals other than lithium.
When heated, the ability to create chemical compounds increases significantly.
Complete explosion and fire safety.
The ability to prevent the development of rotting and oxidative processes.
No toxicity.

Buyers use gas for different purposes. Most often, it combines with hydrogen, which helps produce ammonia. It is in demand in many industries, from refrigerant production to fertilizer production.

For nitrogen to become liquid, it must be brought to a temperature of −195.8 °C. It is important to take into account the peculiarity of the behavior of the nitrogen-oxygen mixture during strong heating. It is the second element that begins to evaporate faster.

In production, cycles of boiling and subsequent liquefaction often alternate. This helps to influence the composition of gases and obtain a mixture with the required performance qualities.

The property of gas transition between states also applies. If you heat one liter of a substance in liquid form, you can get up to 700 liters in gaseous form. Therefore, it is important to ensure proper storage in sealed containers without the risk of heating, with insulation.

Sometimes it may also be necessary to transform the substance into a solid state. Crystallization begins upon cooling to −209.86 °C. The resulting crystals begin to melt upon contact with oxygen.

Medical, food and technical gas

The scope of application of laughing gas is quite wide. Its properties allow it to be used for medical purposes for inhalation anesthesia; in the food industry it is used as a propellant, that is, a means that helps in whipping various mixtures, and also as a “packaging gas” - a substance that is pumped into packaging to increase the shelf life of products .

Industrial gas contains a large amount of impurities that are removed from the substance for medical purposes. Technical nitric oxide is cheaper and more accessible, so it often falls into the hands of dishonest sellers. They sell “laughing gas” to naive and gullible youth, assuring them that it is a pure and tested, absolutely safe product.

Often the “safety” of a product is confirmed by the fact that the poison will not be used in medicine.

Those who use nitrous oxide do not take into account the fact that in medicine it is not just a special purified gas that is used, it is also mixed with oxygen in a special proportion, and is also supplied intermittently, that is, for a very short period of time.

The drug is given under the supervision of an anesthesiologist; it is mainly used for short interventions in dentistry, as it “dissipates” quite quickly. Also, a special mixture is given to women in labor at the peak of contractions, but in small quantities, because it does not affect the condition of the fetus. But this is not done from balloons, but with the help of modern equipment that strictly doses the narcotic substance.

For more complex interventions, combined anesthesia is used, in which nitrous oxide is combined with other drugs: analgesics and muscle relaxants. It would be superfluous to mention that during surgery with anesthesia, an anesthesiologist is present, and the patient himself is constantly under the supervision of devices.

When using “laughing gas” from a can or balloon, it is impossible to guarantee either the purity of the product or its dosage. So an “overdose” of such “joy” can easily result in respiratory arrest and death.

How is liquid nitrogen made?

The process of obtaining such a substance in a liquid state is well established and helps to produce the desired product. Let's consider the main approaches.

Cryogenic method

Uses atmospheric air for work. The approach is based on its liquefaction. The procedure consists of several 3 stages:

Compression in the compressor to the desired state, transfer to heat exchangers.
Entering the expander, expansion.
Cooling, transfer to a liquid state.

The difference in temperature allows oxygen and nitrogen to separate. To achieve the required purity of the substance, this procedure must be repeated several times.

Typically, the cryogenic method is used when large volumes of products need to be obtained. Separation plants are expensive and large in size. To place them, you need to find a large area and connect communications.

The advantage of the technology lies in the purity of the resulting substance. It will contain a minimum of impurities. Using the installations, you can also produce oxygen and argon in the required volume. There are different states - liquid, gaseous.

Membrane method

Quite an old, well-proven technology. So named due to the use of a special membrane with very small pores. When air is supplied to it, it freely passes through such an obstacle, while nitrogen remains and enters the storage tank.

The method has several important advantages:

Purity of the resulting substance.
High level of energy efficiency of production.
Possibility of rapid deployment of the gas production process.

The units can be easily placed in the enterprise and do not take up much space. However, when producing large volumes, the approach usually turns out to be unprofitable.

Adsorption method

The use of adsorbents to create gas mixtures is also practiced by many manufacturers. The approach makes it possible to obtain large volumes of the finished product quite quickly.

The installation consists of two columns. The substance used in the work is in each of them. Air is taken directly from the atmosphere and compressed in a compressor. In this case, the pressure stabilizes to the required levels in the receiver.

It is also important to ensure proper filtration. It guarantees that the finished product will not contain various impurities and contaminants - from dust and carbon dioxide to water vapor, acetylene, and other substances dispersed in the urban air environment.

When the mixture is completely purified, the process of adsorption separation begins. To do this, air is passed through a column containing carbon molecular sieves. Next, the mixture enters the second column, where nitrogen accumulates in the receiver.

Among the important advantages of this technology are the following:

The purity of the resulting mixture reaches 99.9995%.
The entire processing process takes little time.
Electricity consumption is low.
The procedure is automated, which helps stabilize the acquisition of important indicators.
Inexpensive equipment maintenance.
High-quality purification of the air mixture from various atmospheric impurities.

In the process, calculating the level of profitability is of great importance. You need to determine whether the technology is right for you.

Making nitrous oxide at home

There are several ways to obtain laughing gas. The most accessible at home is G. Davy’s method - the thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate) according to the reaction:

NH4NO3 = N2O + 2H2O.

In laboratory conditions, it is more convenient to heat sulfamic acid with nitric acid:

NH2SO2OH + HNO3 (73%) = N2O + H2SO4 + H2O.

however, sulfamic and nitric acids are more difficult to obtain, so we will focus on the decomposition of ammonium nitrate. By the way, the decomposition of ammonium nitrate is used to synthesize nitrous oxide on an industrial scale.

When ammonium nitrate is heated, several reactions take place. Here are fragments from the book by L.I. Bagal Chemistry and technology of initiating explosives (1975) link

Ammonium nitrate, when heated slightly above its melting point (dry ammonium nitrate melts at 169.6°C), decomposes according to the reaction

NH4NO3 NH3 + HNO3 (1) <… contentScore=”0″></…>

The reaction of decomposition to nitrous oxide and water was studied by Berthelot, Thomsen and Velay. The first two researchers found that the reaction was exothermic

NH4NO3 => N2O + 2H2O + 8.8 kcal (2)

The main reactions of ammonium nitrate decomposition at temperatures up to 270°C are (1) and (2). Molten ammonium nitrate, when heated above 250-260°C, can release nitrogen oxides, nitrogen and water:

NH4NO3 => 0.5N2 + NO + 2H2O 4NH4NO3 => 3N2 + N2O4 + 8H2O 3NH4NO3 => 2N2 + N2O3 + 6H2O

Saunders (1922), based on the results of gas analysis, came to the conclusion that the main decomposition reactions at temperatures up to 260°C are (1) and (2), as well as the reaction

5NH3 + 3HNO3 => 4N2 + 9H2O

In his opinion, decomposition during an explosion proceeds according to the reaction

8NH4NO3 => 16H2O + 2NO2 + 4NO + 5N2 <…></…>

For the normal process of formation of nitrous oxide by decomposition of ammonium nitrate, its temperature regime and degree of purity are of exceptional importance.

As can be seen from the above data, ammonium nitrate, when heated to 240-250°C, decomposes to form nitrous oxide and water, however, even at this temperature the resulting “raw” gas contains nitric acid vapor, nitrogen oxides NO and NO2, ammonia, chlorine ( due to chloride impurities), nitrogen and “fog” of sublimated ammonium nitrate. It is clear that such a mixture cannot be inhaled (if the thought arises of repeating Davy’s experiments), since it is deadly!

Moreover, if the flask is closed with a rubber stopper, then even after short-term use it gradually collapses (with the formation of completely harmless products).

Therefore, the method of producing laughing gas by heating ammonium nitrate in a frying pan (which is often recommended by “gurus” to laugh at “laymen”) looks like black humor at best.

Let's move on to the installation.

Ammonium nitrate is decomposed in a Wurtz flask under gentle heating. It is better to use a thermometer, but you can do without it if necessary. As experience has shown, it is better to use heating to approximately 220°C, in which case a slight “boiling” of the melt is observed. The resulting “raw gas” for purification is first passed through an ice-cooled trap to collect distilled water mixed with nitric acid. Next, the gas passes through a Drexel flask with a solution of iron sulfate; it also serves as a kind of indicator of the rate of gas release. Then the gas is washed in an improvised washing machine (with a porous sprayer) with a solution of 5-7% alkali (sodium or potassium hydroxide), where it is purified from NO2, nitric acid, and chlorine. And finally, in the third wash with a porous spray, into which a solution of iron (II) sulfate is poured, nitrous oxide is cleared of NO and traces of remaining impurities. After this, the gas contains nitrous oxide with some water and nitrogen, as well as traces of NO2 and NO.

It should be remembered that special attention

, otherwise the gas will be toxic.

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer (ammonium nitrate) was used as a reaction load.

Liquid nitrogen storage and safety precautions

Having a good understanding of how liquid nitrogen is formed, we can draw conclusions about its proper transportation, storage and use. An important requirement is to maintain the tightness of the container. Therefore, the cylinders into which the mixture is pumped must be regularly inspected, repaired and maintained.

Our company not only sells, but also checks cylinders and ensures fast transportation of products. For transportation, vehicles are used, in which tanks and cryogenic vessels are placed.

To ensure the safety of the produced substance, it must be kept in a vacuum. Pumping into double-walled Dewar flasks is used. The inner surface is silvered to a mirror state - this helps to significantly reduce heat transfer.

The finished product must be used with strict adherence to safety precautions. It is better to avoid long-term contact of the substance with unprotected skin. If it does occur, you need to rinse the affected area as quickly as possible.

When leaks occur, nitrogen begins to accumulate at floor level. At the same time, it quickly evaporates, and there is less oxygen in the room. Therefore, if a vessel leak does occur, proper ventilation must be ensured as quickly as possible.

Signs of nitrogen poisoning

Signs of poisoning from inhaling nitrous oxide can be divided into two groups. The first group includes those that appear after short-term use of laughing gas.

These include:

Short-term memory loss (amnesia);
Uncontrollable laughter for no reason;
Attacks of dizziness;
Headaches that are permanent and paroxysmal in nature;
Frequent fainting;

With longer periods of nitrous oxide use, the above symptoms are added to:

Emotional lability;
Violation of thinking processes;
Unsteady gait and unintelligible speech;
Short-term memory lapses;
Deterioration of vision and hearing;
Progressive brain atrophy;

First aid for poisoning with nitrogen compounds consists of the following:

It is necessary to move the victim to the open air;
Place the patient in such a way as to ensure maximum rest for the body;
Clear the airways of the poisoned person, ensuring unhindered access of oxygen to the body;

After this, it is necessary to call a specialized team, which will take the patient to the hospital, where he will be provided with further necessary professional assistance.

Consequences and first aid

Prolonged inhalation of gas leads to gradual atrophy of the brain, which does not receive enough oxygen. Hypercapnia also develops - the body cannot remove carbon dioxide, and oxygen entering the lungs does not enter the blood to saturate the internal organs.

The effect of nitrous oxide wears off within 20-30 minutes, but the effects of inhaling it remain. Sometimes a person may lose consciousness when inhaling gas, in which case you need to call an ambulance and provide assistance:

check for signs of life: check breathing and pulse;
if he is not breathing, perform CPR.

It is dangerous to believe that laughing gas is harmless to health. Young people and teenagers find inhaling laughing gas fun, enjoying the euphoria and relaxation it produces. But even one dose of too much can be fatal, and prolonged inhalation destroys the brain and inhibits the functioning of the entire body.

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Types of fertilizers containing nitrogen

Fertilizers are called nitrogen fertilizers if they contain nitrogen as the main component.
Fertilizers are classified according to two main characteristics.

According to the state of aggregation:

solid - in the form of granules, used, as a rule, in the spring and summer due to rapid leaching from the soil;
liquid - in the form of solutions, easily absorbed by plants and evenly distributed in the soil.

The amount of nitrogen in various types of fertilizers

Mineral

Nitrogen mineral fertilizers produced by industry are conventionally divided into simple and complex.

The former contain one main chemical element and several others in small quantities. The complex contains up to 3 main elements and several additional ones in small quantities.

Each type of nitrogen-containing fertilizer differs in the proportion of nitrogen it contains from the total mass.

Simple mineral fertilizers:

Ammonia:

liquid ammonia - 82.3%;
aqueous ammonia - 17-21%;
ammonium sulfate - 20.5%;
ammonium chloride - 24-25%;

Nitrate:

sodium nitrate - 16.4%;
calcium nitrate - 13.5-15.5%;

Complex:

Ammonium nitrate:

ammonium nitrate - 34-35%;
lime-ammonium nitrate - 20.5%;
ammonia based on ammonium nitrate - 34.4 -41%;
ammonia based on calcium nitrate - 30.5-31.6%;
Ammonium sulfonitrate - 25.5-26.5%.

The rate of absorption of fertilizers by the soil does not depend on the concentration of nitrogen.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus fertilizers containing nitrogen are called nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers. These are complex two- or three-component fertilizers based on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Consequences of nitrogen deficiency for plants

In addition to the visually visible consequences of nitrogen deficiency, there are invisible changes occurring in the soil.
Most often this can be observed in early spring, when the earth has not yet had time to warm up. Low temperature interferes with the mineralization process, which is why the resulting nitrogen deficiency occurs at an early stage of plant development.

This leads to improper plant growth. Each species may have its own special changes:

in apple trees the number of fruit ovaries noticeably decreases, the leaves become smaller, not reaching the required size;
strawberries do not produce normal shoots, the leaves turn yellow ahead of schedule;
the lower leaves of potatoes and tomatoes turn yellow and fall off before they have time to grow;
unripe tomato fruits fall off even with a slight wind;
in pome-bearing plants, the leaves become noticeably narrower;
the growth of new shoots in roses slows down;
in fruit trees, the chlorophyll content decreases, which leads to a change in the color of the leaves; small fruits have a bright color and easily fall off;
cabbage may experience chlorosis, which is accompanied by yellowing of the leaves around the veins;
Beet leaves turn yellow, become limp and fall off.