Page 110 - Chemical and process design handbook

Speight_Part II_A 11/7/01 3:16 PM Page 2.51

AMMONIA 2.51
Ammonia is used for the manufacture of fertilizers or for the manufacture
of other nitrogen-containing compounds used for fertilizer or, to a lesser
extent, explosives, plastics, and fibers. Explosives made from ammonia are
ammonium nitrate and (via nitric acid) the nitroglycerin used in dynamite.
Plastics include (via urea) urea-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde
resins. Some ammonia ends up in fibers, since it is used to make hexameth-
ylenediamine (HMDA), adipic acid, or caprolactam, all nylon precursors.