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Ammonia in a form suitable for combustion is extremely toxic and even produces chemical burns on direct skin contact. There's been quite a few deaths from indu

Ammonia in a form suitable for combustion is extremely toxic and even produces chemical burns on direct skin contact. There's been quite a few deaths from industrial ammonia tank (plant, truck, railcar), leaks but unlike hydrogen there's zero chance for a combustion explosion or incidental damage from fire. Ammonia also almost immediately diffuses and dissipates in air at atmospheric conditions, so while it's VERY toxic it's only VERY toxic for a VERY brief period of time (a few minutes). One of the odd "safety" benefits with ammonia is that it takes a rather special set of circumstances for it to combust in the first place. That makes it a sub-optimal fuel in many applications--notably aviation. Thanks for that neat fact about using hydrogen in diving. I'm only familiar with trimixes or bimixes of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium.

rich_sasha 2y ago
Interesting re ammonia. But is it the same when there would be a huge spill? E.g. imagine a leak at a large storage facility, of comparable size to how we store hydrocarbons today. Wouldn't that turn into a massive toxic cloud? Interesting read re breathing hydrogen: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydreliox https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydreliox
- calmbonsai 2y ago
  It does leak and it has turned into a massive toxic clouds, but ammonia is much, much lighter than air and a (comparatively) unreactive gas so any large release dissipates extremely quickly and rises straight up out of buildings and infrastructure. It doesn't linger and there's no danger of invisible structural embrittlement or fires. It's also extremely noxious at even very low (safe) concentrations so, unlike odorless methane, hydrogen, or carbon monoxide, people know immediately to stay away from the area. The natural gas (mostly methane) that's piped into housing for heating or cooking is deliberately ordorized with hydrogen sulfide to make it noxious so gas leaks can be smelled.

rich_sasha 2y ago

Interesting re ammonia. But is it the same when there would be a huge spill? E.g. imagine a leak at a large storage facility, of comparable size to how we store hydrocarbons today. Wouldn't that turn into a massive toxic cloud? Interesting read re breathing hydrogen: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydreliox https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydreliox

calmbonsai 2y ago
It does leak and it has turned into a massive toxic clouds, but ammonia is much, much lighter than air and a (comparatively) unreactive gas so any large release dissipates extremely quickly and rises straight up out of buildings and infrastructure. It doesn't linger and there's no danger of invisible structural embrittlement or fires. It's also extremely noxious at even very low (safe) concentrations so, unlike odorless methane, hydrogen, or carbon monoxide, people know immediately to stay away from the area. The natural gas (mostly methane) that's piped into housing for heating or cooking is deliberately ordorized with hydrogen sulfide to make it noxious so gas leaks can be smelled.