Question

Write a short note on Nitrolim.

Answer 1

As we know that calcium cyanamide is known as Nitrolim which is used as inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer. It is also known as lime nitrogen and is prepared when calcium carbide is passed through nitrogen at a suitable temperature in a furnace.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss about Nitrolim as follows:-
Nitrolim: It is an inorganic compound which is also known as Calcium cyanamide with the formula $CaC{{N}_{2}}$ . It is the calcium salt of the cyanamide ($C{{N}^{-}}$) ion. This chemical is used as fertilizer in the agricultural industry.
-Nitrolim is prepared by using calcium carbide. The carbide powder is heated at about 1000 $^{\circ }C$ in an electric furnace into which nitrogen gas is passed for many hours. The product is then cooled to ambient temperatures and any unreacted carbide is leached out with water while being cautious. The reaction for this preparation is shown below:-
$Ca{{C}_{2}}+{{N}_{2}}\to CaC{{N}_{2}}+C$
-It is mainly in agriculture as a fertilizer as in contact with water, it decomposes itself and liberates ammonia which is very useful for soil and plants being grown in the fields. It was also used to produce sodium cyanide by fusing with sodium carbonate which is used in the cyanide process in gold mining. It can also be used in the formation of compounds like calcium cyanide and melamine.

Note:
-Also by hydrolysis in the presence of carbon dioxide gas, nitrolim produces cyanamide.
-Thiourea can also be produced by the reaction of hydrogen sulfide with nitrolim compounds in the presence of carbon dioxide gas.
-It is also used as a wire-fed alloy in steelmaking so as to introduce nitrogen into the steel.