Few people know that a chemical compound with a complex formula of NH4OH called ammonium hydroxide appears in our everyday life under many forms. This is a fertilizer for potatoes and beets, this is ammonia, this is a food supplement hidden in the factory food under the mysterious pseudonym E527, and even ... antifreeze. For the chemical industry, a solution of this chemical compound is produced synthetically. And raw coal is raw material for it. In coke ovens, coal emits ammonia, which saturates water in various proportions.
How to saturate ammonium hydroxide - then you will get from it. For example, E527, which we so imprudently absorb from bars of dubious quality, is a 25% ammonia solution. And some housewives themselves use an 18% solution - it is known in cooking as ammonia water. Approximately in this percentage composition, the substance is mixed into livestock feed. As a fertilizer, ammonia water is used in a 20.5% solution. In terms of effectiveness, it is not inferior to fertilizers in the form of a powder - nitrates and ammonia.
In industry, ammonium hydroxide is used in the production of dyes, ferroalloys, and manganese. It is used to make soda ash. In construction, ammonia water is used to protect valves from corrosion. It is also added to cement, as a result of which it hardens longer and is easy to lay. Many drivers also deal with a solution of this substance - it is used to produce antifreeze. It is also indispensable in the production of nitrate.
In medicine, ammonium hydroxide has found almost the widest application. A ten percent solution is taken out of syncope and stimulated vomiting, as the pungent smell of ammonia makes breathing quicker and raises blood pressure. However, cotton wool with ammonia must be brought to the patient's nose carefully: in some, although isolated, cases, it can, on the contrary, cause respiratory arrest. To cause a gag reflex, the substance is strongly diluted with water - undiluted ammonia can cause burns to the walls of the stomach and esophagus, adversely affect the liver. For insect bites, myositis and neuralgia, this solution is used as lotions, and surgeons wash their hands in warm boiled water with ammonia before surgery. But this substance is contraindicated in some skin diseases (for example, eczema) and should not be applied to the skin with cuts and injuries.
Related in sounding to ammonium hydroxide, however, a completely separate substance is carbonic ammonium (another name for ammonium carbonate). It is also widely used in the food industry, but under a different emulsifier code number: E 503. Naturally, manufacturers claim that the emulsifier is absolutely harmless to health. Another emulsifier E 503, some unscrupulous beer manufacturers replace brewer's yeast. Previously, E503 for gingerbread and waffles was produced from meat waste, but now it is obtained by chemical synthesis. Colorless host ammonium crystals are used as a baking powder. This compound is also used in fire extinguishers and for the preparation of derivatives of ammonium salts.
A person far from chemistry may confuse the names ammonium hydroxide and silicon hydroxide. However, only names can really be confused. In appearance, this latter substance compares favorably with the emulsifier extracted from coal, and in smell, from ammonia. It is absolutely impossible to eat. But how nice it is to wear on your finger, neck or ears! Hydroxides and silicon oxides form a fairly wide group of minerals close to quartz. This includes opal shimmering with a matte sheen, and red carnelian, and smoky chalcedony, and amethyst or rock crystal transparent as a tear.