Tag: smoke, dust and other air pollutants, acid rain

Ammonia is the simplest pnictogen hydride. N group elements are called pnictogens. And the smallest of all pnictogens is nitogen. So simplest pnictogen hydride is ammonia.

The toxicity of ammonia solutions does not usually cause problems for humans and other mammals, as a specific mechanism exists to prevent its build-up in the bloodstream. Ammonia is converted to carbamoyl phosphate by the enzyme carbamoyl phosphate synthetase, and then enters the urea cycle to be either incorporated into amino acids or excreted in the urine. Fish and amphibians lack this mechanism, as they can usually eliminate ammonia from their bodies by direct excretion. Hence ammonia even in dilute solutions is very harmful for aquatic organisms.

Ammonia is the liquid by-product of production of coke from coal.