Nitrogen - 7N: uses
The following uses for nitrogen are gathered from a number of sources as well as from anecdotal comments. I would be delighted to receive corrections as well as additional referenced uses.
- used in ammonia, NH3, production (Haber process). This is the greatest use of nitrogen. Ammonia is used for fertilizer production and to produce nitric acid (Ostwald process)
- used by the electronics industry, which uses the gas as a blanketing medium during production of such components as transistors, diodes, etc.
- used in annealing stainless steel and other steel mill products
- used as a refrigerant both for the immersion freezing of food products and for transportation of foods
- liquid nitrogen is used by the oil industry to build up pressure in wells to force crude oil upward
- used as an intert atmosphere in tanks of explosive liquid storage tanks, both in ground-based tanks and in ships