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| Thanks to everyone who has replied so far... the diversity of views expressed are exactly what I want my students to think about.
As has been mentioned, ammonia is a feedstock for all other synthetic forms of N so it should be the cheapest and most energy efficient to produce but this is not always the case.
The net energy consumed during the production of ammonium nitrate is actually less than the energy consumed during the production of ammonia - this is because oxidizing ammonia to nitrate actually gives off energy... this is why ammonia can be used as a fuel and why nitrifier bacteria in the soil do what they do.
Of course the amount of energy given off when ammonia is oxidized is much less then the energy required to synthesize ammonia.
Keep the ideas flowing... I might even assign this thread as a reading assignment :->
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Why do you choose to or not to use anhydrous?
