Uses and Importance of Ammonia

Ammonia (NH₃) is one of the frequently developed chemical compounds which are generally used in various industries. Consisting one atom of nitrogen and three atoms of hydrogen, this chemical is either a strong smelling gas or liquid. It is utilized in several industries and commerce as well as it is present in us, humans and also in the environment.

Many biological procedures require ammonia and it also functions a precursor for amino acids and nucleotide synthesis. Ammonia is a vital part of the entire nitrogen cycle and is developed in soil from bacterial processes. Apart from synthetically producing it, ammonia can also be created in a natural manner by decomposing organic matter which includes animals, plants and animal wastes. Ammonia-based commercial products are many a time used to fertilize crops, and clean grime. This chemical compound is very harmful and even in minimal amount, if got in contact with skin or accidentally inhaled can cause fainting, dizziness, burning and can sometimes prove fatal.

A few of the many physical and chemical properties of ammonia –

It has alkaline properties and is corrosive.

Ammonia, in pure form is called anhydrous ammonia and is hygroscopic (readily absorbs moisture).

Ammonia is generally transported in a compressed manner in steel containers.

It forms a clear liquid when under pressure.

Ammonia in the form of gas is considerably lighter than air. Therefore, it will never be confined indoors like other hazardous gases, like propane. Even though ammonia is pungent, acrid and has a typical odor, it is clear and cannot be easily combusted unless it is very concentrated. This factor makes it much safer than other chemicals for in-house usage. There are many uses of ammonia – approximately 80% of the total ammonia produced by the industries is used as a fertilizer in agriculture. This compound is also used for cleansing of the water supplies and used as refrigerant gas. Apart from these, it is also used in the manufacturing of textiles, plastics, pesticides, explosives, and other chemicals. Ammonia cleaning solutions in household are specifically developed by diluting 5% to 10% ammonia in water.

A Complete Know-how About Goat Milk and its Infant Formula

When we think of milk, by default we visualize cows. Nonetheless, there exists a wide variety of milk and dairy products beyond our cattle pals. In the past few years the milk market has flourished owing to people’s awareness over the benefits of diverse forms of dairy. Goat’s milk has gained tremendous popularity as one of the dairy alternatives; in fact one particular survey conducted states that, “65 percent of the world drinks goat’s milk over cow’s milk.” As a result more and more parents are switching their infant’s formula base to this kind of dairy. Babies born with a cow’s milk protein allergy or who suffer from lactose intolerance might get benefitted from goat milk and goat milk based food product.

Many parents get suggestions from their pediatricians that goat’s milk might settle more comfortably and is also easier to digest in a baby’s tummy having lactose intolerance. But, goat’s milk is not completely lactose-free; it does comprise of small portions of lactose and not all infants will gain advantages from goat-milk based food. In various parts of the world, people prefer goat’s milk over cow’s milk for self and their infants. The proteins present in goat’s milk as compared to cow’s milk forms lesser, softer and looser curd in the stomach. Also, it degrades quicker than cow milk protein. This could be a possible advantage for babies who spit up a lot and/or who go through gastro-esophageal reflux (GER). The allergenic protein known as alpha-S1 casein is found in traces in goat’s milk, but, both goat’s and cow’s milk has a another variant of same allergenic protein called the beta-lactoglobulin. Hence, a few percentage of toddlers are allergic to both cow’s as well as goat’s milk.

However, goat’s milk has less percentage of folic acid, iron and vitamin D and hence it may not be that ideal for children under two years of age. Lastly, to sum up goat’s milk of any infant formula derived from goat’s milk is slightly more beneficial than any other diary variant because of a few factors such as it consists of less allergenic proteins, it is more digestible than the rest, and slightly less lactose.